Aug. 9
TEXAS:
Judge hearing Lave's appeals sides with state in Herman Sporting Goods case
State District Judge Andy Chatham has issued findings in a case stemming from
the grotesque Herman Sporting Goods killings from 1992, concluding that the
defendant's challenges to his death penalty conviction are without merit.
That was the gist of recommendations Chatham made to the Texas Court of
Criminal Appeals in response to a writ seeking a new trial for Joseph Roland
Lave. The CCA had sent the matter to the trial court for fact-finding, and it
now will consider those recommendations. It's a good bet that the CCA affirms
Chatham and Lave loses this one.
The case involves the fatal slashing and beating deaths of best friends Justin
Marquart and Fred Banzhaf, both employees of the Richardson store, and a
non-fatal attack on manager Angie King. She had her throat slashed and head
bashed in with a hammer, but survived to call 911.
I lived in Richardson then (as now), and my daughter knew the boys. It was one
of those horrible crimes a community never forgets. Partly for that reason, I
was signed up to be a witness for Lave's execution in 2007, and I interviewed
him just hours before he was to be put to death. But DA Craig Watkins asked the
court to withdraw the execution warrant because of unresolved questions about
whether evidence was shared. Like many people in the community, I was repulsed
by the crimes and was convinced that justice was served. Now, I don't know.
I must admit surprise at Chatham's conclusions, having watched several days of
testimony last winter. Some of it hinges on Lave's lawyers not meeting their
burden of proof. Chatham also found the prosecutor in the case a more credible
witness than both of the trial attorneys; where he got that, I can't figure.
Among other things, Lave's appellate lawyers alleged that prosecutors withheld
exculpatory evidence from the defense, including information that a
co-defendant had admitted the fatal attack. The trial lawyers testified before
Chatham that they were never told by prosecutor Dan Hagood that King had,
essentially, changed her story over time, from originally saying there were 2
intruders in the store and finally, shortly before trial, recalling a 3rd.
Here's what Chatham concluded about the lawyers' testimony:
The Court finds unreliable the testimony of Mr. Franklin and Mr. Turley that
they were not aware at the time of trial of the varying statements made by Ms.
King. The Court finds that the passage of time and failure to maintain adequate
notes has prevented Richard Franklin and Hal Turley from accurately remembering
the information provided by the State to the defense team prior to trial.
The Court finds that Applicant has failed to meet his burden of proving that
the State failed to disclose Mr. King's pre-trial statements to trial defense
counsel.
The account of a 3rd intruder meant prosecutors could zero in on Lave, who's
the most unlikely of the 3 conspirators to get to the death penalty. The
instigator, James Langston, also a store employee, was killed in a shootout
with cops, and another accomplice, Timothy Bates, cut a deal with prosecutors
to finger Lave as the killer in return for a life sentence. The shifty Bates
told conflicting stories to authorities about his version of events; they took
one of them to the jury in Lave's death penalty trial to get the conviction.
One element of this case may never get the airing that it would if the trial
were happening today: It's clear to us now how unreliable witness testimony is.
Most of the exonerations proven through DNA involve cases in which a rape
suspect was identified through eyewitness testimony that turned out to be
wrong.
The Herman Sporting Goods case involves witness testimony of a different sort -
not eye-witness, but ear-witness identification (pardon the term). Angie King
never saw Lave. She saw Langston come in the store and knew who he was; she saw
Bates, who was unknown to her; she never saw Lave, but testified that she heard
a 3rd voice. Jurors decided, without ever hearing Lave, that the voice must
have been his.
Given these facts and the opportunity to sow doubt among jurors, I think a good
defense attorney could get Lave off today, if it even went to trial. The
defense would bank on what's been called the CSI Syndrome. It refers to
expectations on the part of jurors. They watch TV dramas about crime forensics,
where everything can be proved in a laboratory. They want that kind of proof,
especially in a death penalty case, and especially with the foreknowledge that
the criminal justice system has gotten it so wrong so many times.
Today, I don't think DA Watkins brings the kind of case that his predecessor
was able to make against Lave. It's ironic, though, that a guy who's renowned
for unraveling criminal cases that should never have been brought is now
defending the prosecution of a case that hangs from such a thin thread.
(source: Rodger Jones, Editorial Writer, Dallas Morning News)
********************************
Willingham blame lies on Perry
Re: "Whither Willingham? - State Bar must dig for truth on prosecutor," Tuesday
Editorials.
I agree with your editorial.
However there was glaring omission: Gov. Rick Perry. Perry was presented with
the factual contradictions regarding the evidence in this case - that
Willingham's conviction was based on erroneous forensic analysis and the
testimony from a jailhouse snitch. Perry could have stayed the execution until
we could get at the truth.
But what was Perry's action? He goes ahead with the execution, stating
Willingham was a "bad man." And now we also find out the the prosecuting
district attorney, John Jackson, cut a secret deal with a "drug-addled"
jailhouse snitch who has recanted since his testimony multiple times.
DA Jackson even set up a deal with his wealthy rancher friend, Charles Pearce,
to funnel money to the snitch in an attempt to keep him quiet. Willingham
wasn't a bad man. He was an innocent man. Rick Perry has to live with that
fact.
Joan Smotzer, Dallas/Uptown
(source: Letter to the Editor, Dallas Morning News)
GEORGIA:
2nd witness dies in case of couple accused of murdering pregnant Athens store
clerk
Prosecutors previously stated they want to use the testimony of a dead witness
in a pending Athens death-penalty case. Now they want to use the testimony of a
2nd witness who recently died, according to a motion recently filed in Clarke
County Superior Court.
Jeffrey Collins went into Golden Pantry on Timothy Road at Atlanta Highway the
night of Dec. 30, 2010, when authorities say he heard a commotion in the office
where a 25-year-old pregnant clerk was being killed.
He also encountered the 2 people - Clarence McCord and Shameeka Watson - who
police said were responsible for the deaths of KeJuan Hall and her unborn
child.
Collins died nearly 8 months later in July 2011.
Last summer, prosecutors filed notice in court that they planned to use as
trial evidence the statements Collins had made to police.
Defense attorneys objected to the use of Collins' statements, calling them
hearsay and inadmissible as evidence.
Defense attorneys also contend that any statements Collins made after
discovering Hall's body were unreliable because, among other reasons, he was
drinking at the time.
Superior Court Judge David Sweat in March held a hearing on the matter.
Among those to testify at the hearing was Doni Carnes, a customer of Golden
Pantry who was there when Collins discovered the slain clerk's body.
"The issues at the motion hearing revolved around details of Carnes' recounting
of his interaction with Jeffrey Collins and his other observations at the crime
scene," prosecutors said the motion that was filed July 30.
But then, on July 12 of this year, Carnes also died.
In the motion, prosecutors state that they plan to use Carnes' testimony from
the March hearing as evidence when McCord and Watson go to trial.
The motion requests a hearing, which has not yet been scheduled, to determine
the admissibility of Carnes' testimony.
On the night of the murder, Collins went to Golden Pantry trying to get free
beer and cigarettes from Hall, according to court records. The clerk refused
the man any handouts and told him to leave.
Collins later returned and while outside he heard "a ruckus, yelling and
screaming" inside, noted the records. Upon entering the store, Hall was no
longer at the counter and in her place was a heavyset woman.
When asking the woman about the noises he heard, Collins was told, "It is OK,
they are having sex or fighting" in the store's office, according to court
records. The woman further told Collins "something about being roommates and he
thinks she may be cheating on him."
The woman followed Collins as he walked around the store, and then a man came
out of the office carrying a broom and telling Collins that the store was about
to close, according to records.
When Collins told the man he was an alcoholic and needed something to drink and
some cigarettes, the man replied that he would not give him anything to drink
since he was himself in Alcoholics Anonymous, but he gave Collins a pack of
cigarettes, according to records.
Collins then walked to Five Points Bottle Shop and tried to get something
there, but was turned away by the manager, according to records. He returned to
Golden Pantry where he saw Doni Carnes at the register, but no clerk. The
store's exterior lights had been turned off.
Carnes, a local self-employed painter, had gone to Golden Pantry to buy some
Goody's Powder.
Authorities said that as Carnes yelled for the clerk, Collins went into the
office where he found Hall on the floor with a box over her head, noted the
records. Removing the box, Collins saw a puddle of blood. He pushed the clerk
and yelled at her, but got no response. He ran out of the office and told the
customer to call the police.
Athens-Clarke County police said that the man in the store was McCord and the
woman was his wife, Watson.
They are each charged with murder for allegedly stabbing the clerk 31 times,
and also with feticide for the death of Hall's unborn child.
Prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty if either or both defendant
is convicted.
(source: Athens Banner-Herald)
FLORIDA----female to face penalty
Prosecutors pursue death penalty for Kimberly Lucas, charged with killing girl,
2
A Jupiter woman charged with killing a 2-year-old girl appeared in court this
morning as prosecutors pushed forward with plans to pursue a possible death
sentence against her.
Kimberly Lucas, 40, is accused of killing her former partner's daughter Elliana
Lucas-Jamason and trying to kill the girl's brother.
She is facing a 1st-degree murder charge. Prosecutors in late June filed a
notice to seek the death penalty against Lucas, and confirmed to Circuit Judge
John Kastrenakes in a brief hearing in the case this morning.
Kastrenakes set the case for another status check sometime in November. Lucas
remains in the Palm Beahc County jail without bond.
(source: Palm Beach Post)
ALABAMA:
Attorneys file motions regarding jury selection in Garrard case
Defense attorneys for a grandmother accused of running a 9-year-old girl to
death have asked a judge to prevent the automatic dismissal of jurors who
express opposition to the death penalty.
Joyce Hardin Garrard is charged with capital murder and slated for trial Sept.
22. She was arrested in February 2012 after her granddaughter, Savannah Hardin,
collapsed at her Hudson Hollow Road home after the girl had been made to run
for hours as punishment for a lie about eating candy. She died 3 days later.
The girl's stepmother, Jessica Mae Hardin, is charged with felony murder in the
case.
The motion by defense attorneys Dani Bone and Sam Bone asked that when
potential jurors are questioned, the judge not allow their automatic dismissal
if they express opposition to the death penalty.
If convicted of capital murder, Garrard would face a penalty of life in prison
without parole or death.
According to the motion, potential jurors are questioned to determine if they
can follow the law - and sentence someone to death - if the evidence warrants
it.
The motion contends that such "death-qualified" juries already are biased
against defendants.
"This culling of potential jurors based on their moral views may produce a jury
that looks quite different from the community at large and also, as some
studies show, may bias that jury toward a verdict of guilt for the defendant,"
the motion stated.
The defense contends seating a death-qualified jury violates her constitutional
rights by creating a "conviction-prone" jury, and because it deprives her of
the ability to show that "evolving standards of decency ..." no longer tolerate
the death penalty.
In a request for relief, the motion asks the judge to prevent death
qualification of the jury and in fact to mandate a "life-qualified" jury, by
removing jurors who would automatically vote for the death penalty if Garrard
is convicted of capital murder.
The motion suggests that the court empanel a non-death-qualified jury to hear
the evidence and determine Garrard's guilt or innocence. If she is convicted,
the motion states, another death-qualified jury could be selected to hear
evidence in the penalty phase of the trial and determine the sentence.
Alternately, the motion suggests 2 juries be empaneled and hear all the
evidence in the case, but only the non-death-qualified jury would decide guilt
or innocence. If Garrard were found guilty of capital murder, the other jury -
death-qualified jury - would determine her punishment.
The defense also filed a motion asking that the 1st phase of Garrard's capital
murder trial be referred to in court as the "trial" phase rather than the
"guilt" phase. Often, the phase of the trial where jurors hear evidence to
determine guilt or innocence is called the "guilt" phase and should a defendant
be found guilty, the second part of the trial to set punishment is called the
"penalty" phase.
A hearing is slated Aug. 18 before Circuit Court Judge Billy Ogletree to hear
pretrial motions in the case.
(source: Gadsden Times)
OHIO:
Rhoades ready to enter plea in Grube murders ---- Judge expected to hand down
sentence next week
Bryant Rhoades - 1 of 2 men implicated in the November 2011 murders of Fort
Recovery-area residents Robert and Colleen Grube - now plans not to contest the
charges against him and face sentencing Tuesday in Mercer County Common Pleas
Court.
The 23-year-old Union City man in letters this week to county prosecutor Matt
Fox indicated he wants to continue with a previous intent to plead guilty to an
Alford plea. The hearing is set for 1 p.m.
During a hearing July 15, Rhoades backed out of a negotiated Alford plea that
would have spared him the possibility of the death penalty. Court paperwork
filed before the proceeding indicated he would enter the plea, which would
allow him to maintain his innocence while admitting the state had sufficient
evidence to convict him on two counts each of aggravated murder with firearm
specifications, aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary.
The negotiated agreement would have dismissed the death-penalty specification
and all remaining charges in the 27-count indictment, and carried a likely
penalty of life in prison without parole.
A 3-judge panel of local judge Jeffrey Ingraham and visiting judges Jeffrey L.
Reed of Allen County and Randall L. Basinger of Putnam County were seated to
handle the proceeding after Rhoades waived his right to a jury trial.
However, Rhoades changed his mind after Fox read a stipulation of facts
detailing events that had taken place at the Grubes' Burrville Road home on the
night of Nov. 29-30, 2011. Rhoades expressed concern about the description of
the garage where, according to Fox, Rhoades took tools and a chainsaw.
Following a recess to allow the defendant time with defense attorneys William
Kluge and Robert Grzybowski, Ingraham announced that Rhoades no longer wished
to pursue the Alford plea and instead wanted a jury trial.
Co-defendant Trevin Sanders-Roark, 19, also of Union City, pleaded guilty Feb.
27 to 2 counts each of aggravated murder, aggravated robbery and aggravated
burglary. 2 sentencing dates have been delayed during pendency of Rhoades'
case. His next scheduled appearance is an Aug. 19 attorney conference.
Sanders-Roark, who was 17 at the time of the murders, signed a statement of
facts identifying him as Colleen Grube's killer and Rhoades as the person
responsible for Robert Grube's death.
Sanders-Roark does not face the death penalty because he was a minor at the
time of the murders.
(source: Celina Daily Standard)
KENTUCKY:
Man accused of killing sleeping relative faces death penalty
A man accused of killing a sleeping relative will now face the death penalty if
convicted.
Michael Murphy was on home incarceration for assault when police say he broke
into Alex Mendez' home and shot him in the head in August of last year.
Mendez was asleep at the time.
In court Friday, it was revealed that prosecutors offered Murphy a plea deal
for life in prison but he turned it down.
He'll now face a possible death sentence.
A trial date will be set next month.
(source: WLKY news)
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