Appendix E

Defendants Spared from Death Sentences by Sentencers

In order from highest number of Depravity Points to lowest (and if Depravity Points are equal, then in alphabetical order by defendant’s surname)

(Numbered with the prefix “SS” denoting “Sentencer  Spared”)

Age is given as of the time of the crime, although the age may be off by a year because of lack of knowledge of the defendant’s birthday in relation to the date of the crime.  When there are multiple murders with years in between, the defendant’s age at the time of the most recent murder is listed.

SS 1.  Terry Nichols, age 40

County and State: Oklahoma, Oklahoma

Date of crime: 4/19/95

Number of jurors for each verdict: The jury deadlocked after 3 days and 20 hours of deliberations.  One juror said as many as 8 of the 12 jurors agreed to impose a death sentence. 

Summary of facts of the crime: Nichols helped Timothy McVeigh create the bomb that exploded at the Oklahoma City federal building, killing 161 people.  Nichols was convicted of 161 counts of first-degree murder as well as one count each of first-degree arson and conspiracy.  (Nichols had already been sentenced to live without parole in 1998 on federal bombing charges.)

Any indication of the reason(s) the jury declined to impose the death penalty: Nichols never testified but submitted a lengthy written statement asking for forgiveness.  Some allege that he was spared because of a jailhouse conversion to Christianity gained him sympathy from the jury and lawyers from both sides agreed jurors were influenced by Nichols’ religious conversion.  Nichols was also portrayed as susceptible to manipulation by Timothy McVeigh.

Sources: Sunday Mail 6/13/2004 (2004 WL 76329688); Augusta Chronicle 8/8/2004 (2004 WL 89995855); Washington Post 6/13/2004 at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37406-2004Jun12.html; The Daily Oklahoman 11/18/2004 (2004 WL 97832192)

SS 2.  Mervin Hughes, age 35

County and State: Alameda, California

Date of crime: Shooting spree began on 1/15/99 and ended 1/29/99

Number of jurors for each verdict: 10 jurors for death penalty and 2 for life sentence.

Summary of facts of the crime: Hughes conducted a two-week drive-by shooting binge during which he shot 11 people, killing 2 of them.  Hughes was convicted of 19 felony criminal counts, including murder, attempted murder and assaults with a gun.  Motives for the deeds ranged from revenge against someone for cooperating with police to the simple thrill.  Hughes showed no remorse for his deeds.  He had also killed a man in 1986 what police determined was a drug-related slaying.  For that he had pleaded guilty to a voluntary manslaughter and served 8 years.  He was also identified as the killer in a 1992 homicide.  Jurors heard testimony about both prior crimes.  (The prosecutor  chose to re-try the penalty phase, as is an option in California, and in 2005 Hughes was sentenced to death by the second jury.  He is still listed in the Sentencer Spared category for 2004, however, because of the deadlocked jury in the first penalty phase in 2004.) 

Any indication of the reason(s) the jury declined to impose the death penalty: Unknown.

Sources: The Oakland Tribune 6/4/2004 (2004 WL 79861093), 6/17/2004 (2004 WL 79861918), San Francisco Chronicle 3/17/05 (LEXIS, USPAPR file), 6/11/05 (LEXIS, USPAPR file)

SS 3.  Ronald Hinton, age 23

County and State: Cook, Illinois

Date of crimes: 12/96, 8/98, 2/99

Number of jurors for each verdict: Hinton pleaded guilty to the Merceda Ares murder and two other murders.  The judge imposed a life sentence. 

Summary of facts of the crime: Hinton went to Ares’s home to steal money.  Hinton raped and then strangled her to death so she could not report the crime.  Hinton also admitted to sexually assaulting and strangling Keary Gagnier and Felicia Mullins.  DNA evidence linked Hinton to all three murders.  Hinton was caught after using Ares ATM card.  His third grade daughter saw a picture of Hinton using the card on the news and told a teacher.  In mitigation, Hinton demonstrated remorse for the murders, was severely abused as a child, and abandoned by his family. 

Any indication of the reason(s) the jury declined to impose the death penalty: Unknown.

Sources: Chicago Sun-Times 5/12/2004 (LEXIS, USPAPR file); Chicago Tribune 5/12/2004 (LEXIS, USPAPR file), 8/25/2004 (LEXIS, USPAPR file), 12/22/2004 (LEXIS, USPAPR file)

SS 4, SS 5.  Keon Moses, age 21;  Michael Taylor, age 20 (both ages are at time of sentencing—both were juveniles when homicides began)

Federal - Maryland

Date of crime: A series of drug-related homicides that began in 1999

Number of jurors for each verdict: Unknown.

Summary of facts of the crime: Michael Taylor and Keon Moses were members of the Lexington Terrace Boys, a violent gang named for the public housing where its members were raised.  Authorities allege that the two, as teens, committed or were connected to as many as a dozen murders.  Prosecutors linked the boys to six homicides during the initial phase of the trial.  The boys sold crack on the streets and then began a killing rampage in the spring that had claimed at least 9 lives.  The centerpiece of the government’s case was an execution on September 23 where Taylor and Moses killed two men and wounded a third.  Those killings led to a string of others.  Derek Hamlin made it clear to Taylor he was angry about one of the deaths, and was killed along with a friend.  Two months later, Taylor shot to death a potential witness which was witnessed by a minister.  After that, Taylor went along with two other gunmen to kill a man who was thought to have killed the first two men that Taylor and Moses shot; Taylor went along to deflect suspicion about his own guilt.  The last victim had a falling-out with Taylor and was last seen with Taylor; his body has never been found.  The defense presented evidence of the defendant’s horrible upbringings in a now-demolished public housing complex.

Any indication of the reason(s) the jury declined to impose the death penalty: Unknown

Sources: Baltimore Sun 4/22/04 (2004 WL 76387239), 7/24/04 (2004 WL 84125081)

SS 6.  Darrell Stallings, age 32

County and State: Wyandotte, Kansas

Date of crime: 6/10/02

Number of jurors for each verdict (if available): Unknown.

Summary of facts of the crime: Stallings went on a shooting rampage and killed five.  Earlier in 2002, Stallings’ mother was robbed and beaten, and although two people were convicted of the crime Stallings believed his previous friends Anthony and Trina Jennings were involved.  Stallings and his accomplice, Errik Harris, went to a gas station, where Harris got in a fight and Stallings broke up the fight and shot at the assailants as they fled.  The defense argued, it was this event that triggered Stalling’s post-traumatic stress episode.  Stallings then went to Anthony Jennings’ home and shot Melvin Montague, 34, and Samantha Sigler, 24.  Stallings fired at Anthony Jennings, but did not kill him.  Stallings then went to Trina Jennings home and shot her at least seventeen times.  Later that night, Stallings shot Tameika Jackson, 24 and Destiny Wiles, 23.  The defense argued that Stallings could not be found guilty of premeditated murder because he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.  The trauma resulted from witnessing his mother shoot his father as a child.   

Any indication of the reason(s) the jury declined to impose the death penalty:  Unknown. 

Sources: The Kansas City Star 10/29/2004 (2004 WL 96231099), 11/25/2004 (2004 WL 98605810), 12/8/2004 (2004 WL 101263603)

SS 7.  Matthew Eshbach, age 27

County and State: Chester, Pennsylvania

Date of crime: 11/22/02

Number of jurors for each verdict: Death sentence question not reached because the jury convicted him of second-degree murders, which are not death-eligible.

Summary of facts of the crime: Eshbach and Michael McGrory went to talk to Kerry and Katherine Schadler because McGrory thought the Schadlers had spoken to the police about a robbery ring McGrory was involved in.  (Eshbach was not part of the robbery ring, but his nephew was so he agreed to accompany McGrory.)  The Schadlers denied talking to the police, but Eshbach and McGrory bound, kidnapped, and strangled them, dumping their bodies. Katherine was 22 weeks pregnant, and begged for her life and that of her unborn child. 

Any indication of the reason(s) the jury declined to impose the death penalty: The jury convicted him of second-degree murders, which are not death-eligible offenses.

Sources: The Philadelphia Inquirer 6/10/04 (2004 WL 81207243), 6/18/04 (2004 WL 81208801), 6/20/04 (2004 WL 81209300), 6/29/04 (2004 WL 84019425)

SS 8.  Quang Bui, age unknown (re-sentencing after an appellate reversal)

County and State: Montgomery, Alabama

Date of crime: 2/5/86

Number of jurors for each verdict: 7-5 for life sentence.

Summary of facts of the crime: Bui slit his 3 children’s throats after their mother left him for another man.  He killed his children with a 14-inch butcher knife and it took up to ½ hour for them to die.  The defense brought in Bui’s coworkers and his former pastor to testify as to Bui’s good character.  They also had videotaped testimony of his family in Vietnam.  The defense argued that Bui killed his children as a result of post traumatic stress disorder brought on by his service in the Vietnam War; they also argued he suffered from depression, the loss of his family and from cultural isolation – “a good man swept away by war and by mental illness.”  Defense also put on evidence from 2 prison chaplains that testified that Bui was a devout Christian and a positive influence for other inmates on death row

Any indication of the reason(s) the jury declined to impose the death penalty: Unknown.

Sources: Montgomery Advertiser - 10/1/2004 (2004 WL 84753363), 10/2/2004 (2004 WL 84753415), 10/5/2004, (2004 WL 84753460); Bui v. State, 717 So.2d 6 (Ala. Crim. App. 1997)

SS 9.  Jonathan Mills, age 27

County and State: Waterbury, Connecticut

Date of crime: 12/17/00

Number of jurors for each verdict: Unknown.

Summary of facts of the crime: Mills was found guilty of 15 charges, including 3 counts of murder, 3 counts of capital felony and 6 counts of felony murder.  He fatally stabbed his aunt and her two children, who were 6 and 4 years old and confessed to doing it so he could steal his aunt’s ATM card to get money for drugs.  He stabbed his aunt 45 times and the children 6 times each in their mother’s bed.  The judge allowed Mills to address the jury without being sworn in nor having to face cross-examination, as long as he didn’t discuss evidence in the case.  As to other mitigating factors, there was evidence as to his rampant drug use, poor childhood, drunken father and some child abuse and the fact he has taken responsibility for the murders.  Mills is also accused of murdering Mindy Leigh, 20, in October 2000 dumping her body.   He faces a separate trial in that case.

Any indication of the reason(s) the jury declined to impose the death penalty: Unknown

Sources: The Hartford Courant 10/2/2004 (2004 WL 94691043), 10/5/2004 (2004 WL 94691398), 10/7/2004 (2004 WL 94691673), 10/19/2004 (2004 WL 94693639)

SS 10.  Ladon Stephens, age 33 

County and State: Multnomah, Oregon

Date of crime: 12/3/01

Number of jurors for each verdict: Unanimous jury verdict for a life sentence.  

Summary of facts of the crime: Stephens raped, sodomized, and killed, fourteen-year-old, Melissa Bittler.  At the time of the killing Stephens was on parole for an attempted kidnapping.  The evidence was based completely on DNA that was also tied to four rapes in 1997.   

Any indication of the reason(s) the jury declined to impose the death penalty: Bittler’s family supported a life sentence because of their disagreement with the death penalty.  Stephens also expressed remorse for the killing. 

Sources: The Oregonian 2/20/2004 (LEXIS, USPAPR file), 2/27/2004(LEXIS, USPAPR file), 3/5/2004 (LEXIS, USPAPR file), 3/9/2004 (LEXIS, USPAPR file), 3/11/2004 ( LEXIS, USPAPR file)

SS 11.  Timothy Woogerd, age 44

County and State: Franklin, Ohio

Date of crime: 12/9/03

Number of jurors for each verdict: Unknown.

Summary of facts of the crime: Woogerd set fire to his ex-wife’s home while she and her children slept.  His ex-wife, Robin, 41; his son, Thomas, 21 months; and his stepdaughter, Natalie, 12, were killed in the fire.  Woogerd’s other ex-wife testified he had previously threatened to burn her house down and owed her more than $3,000 in back child support.   

Any indication of the reason(s) the jury declined to impose the death penalty: The jury sentenced Woogerd 55 years to life because while they believed Woogerd set the fire they could not decide if he went there with the intent to kill his wife and children.