Case details - 1st Half of 2004

James Edward Barber—white, age 42

Sentenced to death in Madison County, Alabama

By: A judge, after an 11-1 recommendation of death by a jury.

Date of crime: 5/20 or 21/2001

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Barber was a handyman who had been doing work for 75 year-old Dorothy Epps. During a robbery, he beat her to death with a hammer. He confessed on videotape and was linked to the crime scene through physical evidence. The defense contested guilt on the basis that the confession was false and that the circumstantial evidence was weak. In the penalty phase, the defense presented evidence that Barber was in a cycle of drug use and that his violent behavior was not characteristic of him.

Prosecutor(s): Bill Starnes, Robert Broussard
Defense lawyer(s): Robert Tuten, Ben Boyanton

Sources: Huntsville Times, 5/26/01; 8/5/03; Telephone conversation with prosecutor Starnes 9/22/04

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Jimmy Lee Brooks – white, age 22

Sentenced to death in Talladega County, Alabama

By: A judge, after a unanimous jury recommendation of death

Date of crime: 2/17/2002

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Brooks and Michael Carruth kidnapped Forest Bowyer and his 12-year-old son, Brett Bowyer, from their home by posing as police officers. The kidnappers stole $47,000 and took the victims to a construction site. Brooks shot the son in the head three times, slit the father’s throat and dumped them both into a shallow grave. The son died, but the father survived and was able to identify Brooks and Carruth. The defense argued that Carruth forced Brooks to commit the murder. In mitigation, the defense presented evidence that Brooks came from a broken home, and did not intend to harm the child. (Although no evidence was presented in this trial, Brooks and Carruth were also charged in another county with robbing and murdering an elderly couple in a home invasion burglary.)

Prosecutor(s): Kenneth Davis
Defense lawyer(s): Joel Collins and Charles Floyd III

Sources: Columbus Ledger-Enquirer 3/2/2002, 2/11/2004, 4/9/2004; CNN.com, 2/20/2002

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James Brownfield—white, age 27

Sentenced to death in Jackson County, Alabama

By: A judge, after a jury recommendation of death

Date of crime: 12/24/2001

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Brownfield beat to death with a hammer his sister Brenda McCutcheon, and her 3-year-old grandson. He scrawled in lipstick on a wall, “Tammy I love you. Never forget. Killing is my business now.” Then he went to the home of Brenda’s estranged husband Latham and beat him to death with the hammer, also. There was evidence that Brownfield was high on several drugs, including Xanax, at the time of the killings.

Prosecutor(s):
Defense lawyer(s):

Sources: Associated Press 12/26/01, Mobile Register 2/16/04
 

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Emanuel Gissendanner—black, age 25

Sentenced to death in Dale County, Alabama

By: A judge, after an 11-1 jury recommendation of death

Date of crime: About 6/22/01

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Gissendanner assaulted the 77-year-old victim Margaret Snellgrove, kidnapped her by putting her in the trunk of her car, stole her car, and killed her by inflicting severe head and neck trauma, finally dumping her body in a ravine. He then forged a check from her purse and cashed it. Gissendanner claimed he rented the car and received the check from another man, and denied involvement in crimes against Snellgrove. He claimed he was at home at the time of the murder. Gissendanner had a prior forgery conviction. In mitigation the defense offered evidence that Gissendanner had no history, either criminal or non-criminal, of violence.

Prosecutor(s): David Emery
Defense lawyer(s): Joe Gallo, Bill Kominos

Sources: Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (Ga) 6/28/01, 12/19/01; Ozark News 6/27/01; Telephone call with defense lawyer Kominos 9/27/04

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Antonio Jones – black, age 21

Sentenced to death in Houston County, Alabama

By: A judge, after an 11-1 jury recommendation of a death sentence

Date of crime: 12/31/1999

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Jones beat 80-year-old Ruth Kirkland to death during a home invasion burglary. After the murder, police found Jones wearing blood stained clothes and driving Kirkland’s car. Kirkland’s grandson discovered his grandmother beaten to death with fractured ribs, broken arms and bruises all over her body. Prosecution presented DNA evidence linking Jones to the crime. Jones argued that he went to Kirkland’s house with some other men and it was one of them who killed her. In mitigation, the defense focused on Jones’ hyperactivity and a low IQ. Jones also had a rough childhood and was raised in a broken home.

Prosecutor(s): Doug Valeska
Defense lawyer(s): Tom Brantley and Clarke Parker

Sources: Dothan Eagle 3/16/04, 6/9/04
 

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Charlie Washington—black, age 54

Sentenced to death in Elmore County, Alabama

By: A judge, after a 10-2 jury recommendation of death

Date of crime: 1/3/2003

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Julian and Florence McKinnon (ages 82 and 84) were beaten to death by numerous blows from a blunt object in their home by Washington during a burglary/robbery. Washington was found in possession of the couple’s car at the time of his arrest, as well as a large sum of money roughly corresponding to the amount taken from the home, as well as a coin collection from the home. Traces of the blood of both victims were found on his clothes. Washington claimed an alibi: he had been on the way to Atlanta to do a drug deal at the time of the murders, but the alibi was not supported. In mitigation, the defense offered evidence of a rough childhood, and drug usage. (Note: Defense lawyer Walter K. Jones reports that he has since randomly encountered two of the jurors in the community, and both said that if Washington had admitted the crime and expressed remorse, the jury would have had more than 2 votes for a life sentence—and 10 is the minimum number that will support a death recommendation.)

Prosecutor(s): Sam Partridge
Defense lawyer(s): Walter K. “Kenny” Jones, Wayne Perdue

Sources: Montgomery Advertiser, 2/1/03; Telephone calls with prosecutor Partridge and defense lawyer Jones on 9/24/04.

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David Lamar Anthony—white, age 52

Sentenced to death in Maricopa County, Arizona

By: A jury

Date of crime: About 7/7/01

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Anthony killed his wife and two children (ages 12 and 14) so that he could take control of his wife’s assets. Their bodies were never found. The prosecution proof of death relied partly on blood and semen trace evidence. The defense attempted to suggest that Anthony’s wife’s former husband, who was the biological father of the two children, was the culprit. (Note: Anthony was convicted in 2002, but not sentenced until 2004 because the constitutionality of Arizona’s death penalty statutes was being litigated. Thus, he was sentenced by a different jury than the one that convicted him.)

Prosecutor(s): Vince Imbordino
Defense lawyer(s): Ulises Ferragut for the guilt/innocence trial in 2002; Robert Doyle for the penalty phase in 2004.

Sources: Arizona Republic, 3/8/04, 9/24/04; Maricopa County Superior Court order 2/15/02

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Charles David Ellison—white, age 33

Sentenced to death in Mohave County, Arizona

By: A jury

Date of crime: 2/24/99

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Ellison killed Joseph and Lillian Boucher in their home in Kingman during a burglary. The jury found 6 aggravating circumstances: his prior criminal record, that he was on parole for armed robbery at the time of the murders, that the crime was committed for pecuniary gain, that the victims were older than 70, that the victims were bound and suffocated with tape, and that there were two murders. The defense mitigation focused on Ellison’s rough childhood and his drug and alcohol addictions, and attempted to convince the jury that the primary wrongdoer had been accomplice Richard Finch, who was earlier sentenced to life in prison.

Prosecutor(s): Matt Smith
Defense lawyer(s): Vince Lannone

Sources: Kingman Daily Miner 2/17/04, 2/18/04

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Steven Ray Newell—white, age 20

Sentenced to death in Maricopa County, Arizona

By: A jury

Date of crime: 5/3/01

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Newell kidnapped 8-year-old Elizabeth Byrd on her way to school, sexually assaulted her, strangled her with her backpack strap, wrapped her body in a piece of carpet, and dumped it in an irrigation ditch. Newell confessed to the kidnapping and sexual assault, but denied the murder. Physical evidence and eyewitnesses placed him at the crime scene. Newell had a prior conviction for attempted kidnapping. In mitigation, the defense showed Newell’s deprived childhood and his drug addiction.

Prosecutor(s): Cleve Lynch
Defense lawyer(s): Bruce Peterson

Sources: Arizona Republic 2/3/04, 2/11/04, 2/13/14, 2/26/04

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Joseph Clarence Smith, Jr.—white, age about 25 (re-sentencing after an appellate reversal)

Sentenced to death in Maricopa County, Arizona

By: A jury

Date of crime: late 1975

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Smith kidnapped two teenaged female hitchhikers in separate incidents, took them into the desert, bound them, suffocated them by forcing dirt into their noses and mouths, and then taping their mouths. He then inflicted perverse injuries on their corpses. Smith had other convictions for rape. This was at least Smith’s second re-sentencing after an appellate reversal.

Prosecutor(s): David Powell
Defense lawyer(s):

Sources: State v. Smith, 599 P.2d 187 (Ariz. 1976)
 

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Billy Dale Green – white, age 43

Sentenced to death in Randolph County, Arkansas

By: A jury

Date of crime: 7/29/1998

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Billy Green had his son, Charles, pretend he was having car trouble to lure the victim, Carl Elliott, to a bridge where Billy shot him. Billy then went to the Elliott house where he beat and killed Elliott’s wife and two children. Billy used a tire tool to kill Elliott’s 5-year-old son, and then hit the wife 27 times with the tool and slit her throat. Billy then put Elliott’s 8-year-old daughter in a trash can and kept her alive for two days in a shed before he drove her to the woods and killed her. Prosecutors argued that Billy killed the family two weeks after Elliott confessed to stealing Billy’s marijuana plants in 1994. The prosecution had no forensic evidence of the crime, but only the testimony of Billy’s son, Charles. The defense argued that Charles killed the Elliott family and blamed it on his father. In mitigation, the defense blamed Green’s upbringing that led him to a life of drugs and crime.

Prosecutor(s): Richard Castleman, Henry Boyce
Defense lawyer(s): Mary Catron, Steve Harper

Sources: The Arkansas Democrat Gazette 8/8/03, 9/23/03, 5/14/04, 5/15/04, 5/18/04, 5/21/04, 5/22/04, 5/28/04; Arkansas Department of Corrections: www.state.ar.us/doc/deathrow.html
 

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Joseph Barrett – white, age 25

Sentenced to death in Imperial County, California

By: A jury

Date of crime: 4/9/1996

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Barrett killed his prison cellmate Thomas Richmond. The prosecution presented testimony from an inmate who said, Barrett wanted to kill Richmond because he turned in a manufactured knife to a prison guard. Barrett was already serving a 26-year to life sentence for beating a high school teacher to death, but the defense claimed Barrett murdered the teacher because he was trying to sexually abuse him. Barrett claimed he acted in self-defense. During the penalty phase, the prosecution presented evidence that Barrett was violent in prison towards guards and prisoners, and had accumulated many manufactured knives. The defense offered evidence of Barrett’s abusive childhood; Barrett was abandoned by his father and had an alcoholic mother.

Prosecutor(s): Wayne Robinson
Defense lawyer(s): Ed Sada, Eric Beaudikofer

Sources: Imperial Valley Press Online 2/3/04, 2/10/04, 2/18/04, 2/25/04, 3/11/04

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Michael Flinner—white, age 32

Sentenced to death in San Diego County, California

By: A jury

Date of crime: 6/11/00

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Flinner became the lover of the 18-year-old victim Tamra Keck. He then took out a $500,000 life insurance policy on her claiming she was a key employee of his failing landscaping business, when in fact she did little work. He hired one of his laborers, Haron Ontiveros, to kill the victim. Ontiveros did so by luring her to a remote location and shooting her in the back of the head. Ontiveros and Flinner were tried simultaneously to separate juries. The jury returned a life-without-parole sentence against Ontiveros, and a death sentence against Flinner. Flinner had a prior rape conviction. His defense claimed he had mental problems.

Prosecutor(s): Rick Clabby
Defense lawyer(s): Sandra Resnick, John Mitchell

Sources: San Diego Union-Tribune 3/27/04, 3/30/04, 4/3/04

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Angelina Rodriguez—Latina, age 32

Sentenced to death in Los Angeles County, California

By: A jury

Date of crime: 9/9/00

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Rodriguez tried at least three times to kill her husband Frank, finally succeeding by spiking his Gatorade with antifreeze. Her motive was a $250,000 life insurance policy. She was also convicted of threatening a witness to whom she had revealed her plan to kill Frank. The prosecution also proved in aggravation that Rodriguez had killed her baby in 1993 by breaking a pacifier and ramming part of it down the baby’s throat, and then bringing a tort suit against the manufacturer. While the defense lawyer stated to the press after the case that he couldn’t find much of a defense on the guilt/innocence issue, Rodriguez insisted to the judge that she had not committed the crime, and that Frank must have drunk the antifreeze on his own. In mitigation, the defense presented evidence that she had been sexually abused as a child.

Prosecutor(s): Doug Sortino
Defense lawyer(s): David Houchin

Sources: Los Angeles Times 11/13/03, 1/13/04; Contra Costa Times 1/13/04

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Maurice Steskal—white, age 40

Sentenced to death in Orange County, California

By: A jury

Date of crime: 6/12/99

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Steskal was in the parking lot of a convenience store when police officer Brad Riches stepped out of his car on routine patrol. Steskal opened fire on Riches with an AK-47 assault rifle. Several of the bullets penetrated Riches’ bulletproof vest, killing him. Steskal claimed his seemingly inexplicable conduct was a result of a mental defect that caused him to have a paranoid fear of authority figures. (Note: A prior jury in the case had hung on an 11-1 vote for a life sentence.)

Prosecutor(s): Bryan Brown
Defense lawyer(s): Mark Davis

Sources: Los Angeles Times 12/13/03, 2/7/04

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Robert Courchesne—white, age 41

Sentenced to death in Waterbury County, Connecticut

By: A jury

Date of crime: 9/15/98

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Victim Demetris Rogers was haranguing Courchesne to pay her for crack cocaine she had supplied him earlier in the day when he stabbed her multiple times and left her to die in the street. Rogers was nine months pregnant—the baby was surgically delivered and survived for 42 days before succumbing due to lack of oxygen during the time her mother was dying. The death of the baby accounted for a second murder conviction against Courchesne. The defense did not contest guilt, but argued that Courchesne had lived a good life before he had developed his drug habit, and that the victim had in part provoked the attack through her illegal drug dealing. (Note: This is an unusual case where a white defendant received a death sentence for killing black victims.)

Prosecutor(s): John Connelly
Defense lawyer(s): Ronald Gold, Kenneth Simon

Sources: Hartford Courant 12/10/04, 12/11/04, 12/18/04, 1/16/04

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Linda Lou Charbonneau – white, age 53

Sentenced to death in Sussex County, Delaware

By: A judge, after a 10-2 jury recommendation of death

Date of crime: Sept. and Oct. 2001

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Charbonneau planned the beating deaths by her son-in-law of her husband, for greed; and of her ex-husband because he had become suspicious that she had killed her husband. As to her husband, she and her son-in-law and daughter buried his body—and the autopsy discovered dirt in her husband’s lungs, indicating he was still breathing when he was buried. Charbonneau became the first woman to face execution in Delaware since 1935.

Prosecutor(s): James Adkins
Defense lawyer(s): Thomas Pedersen

Sources: The News Journal 6/5/04; State of Delaware Department of Correction: http://www.state.de.us/correct/information/deathrow.shtml

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Chauncy Starling – black, age 26

Sentenced to death in New Castle County, Delaware

By: A judge, after an unanimous jury recommendation of a death sentence

Date of crime: 3/9/2001

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Starling, Richard Frink, and Alfred Gaines went into a barbershop to kill Darnell Evans and shot him four times, but also accidentally shot 5-year-old, Damon Gist Jr. Ultimately, Gaines testified against Starling. After Starling was charged in the Gist and Evans murders, he attempted to murder Gaines to prevent him from testifying, but Starling argued he shot Gaines in self-defense. During sentencing, Starling expressed his innocence.

Prosecutor(s): Paul R. Wallace
Defense lawyer(s): John S. Malik

Sources: The News Journal 11/5/03, 6/11/04

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John Michael Buzia—white, age 39

Sentenced to death in Seminole County, Florida

By: A judge, after an 8-4 jury recommendation of a death sentence.

Date of crime: 3/14/00

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Buzia attacked 71-year-old Thea Kersch with an ax and left her for dead at her home, where he had sometimes worked as a handyman. When her husband, 71-year-old Charles Kersch, arrived home, Buzia attacked him with the ax in the garage and killed him. He stole their car, cash, and some blank checks. He was arrested shortly thereafter trying to cash one of the checks. Thea Kersch identified Buzia at trial. Buzia admitted the attacks during the trial. His mitigation was that he was on a crack cocaine binge at the time and that he had performed good deeds while in prison.

Prosecutor(s): No information found
Defense lawyer(s): No information found

Sources: Orlando Sentinel 3/26/03, 4/4/03, 8/19/03

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Quawn Franklin – black, age 24

Sentenced to death in Lake County Florida

By: A judge, after an unanimous jury recommendation of a death sentence

Date of crime: 12/29/2001

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Franklin shot night watchman, Jerry Lawley, in the back as Lawley pled for his life during a robbery. Franklin was on a conditional release from prison for robbery. This murder was the last event in a 10-day crime spree by Franklin that included robbing, kidnapping, and killing a pizza deliveryman and for robbing and almost beating an elderly woman to death. (Franklin was convicted in an earlier trial for these crimes and sentenced to six life sentences.) The defense did not contest Franklin’s responsibility for the murder, but argued he should receive the same sentence his co-defendant (who was a 13-year-old girl), 35 years in prison. In mitigation, the defense presented that Franklin had a troubled childhood, when he was removed from his home and sexually abused at a juvenile home.

Prosecutor(s): Bill Gross
Defense lawyer(s): Mark Nacke, William Grossenbacher

Sources: Orlando Sentinel 4/23/04, 4/27/04, 6/4/04

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Theodore Rodgers, Jr. – black, age 61

Sentenced to death in Seminole County, Florida

By: A judge, after a jury recommendation of 8-4 for the death penalty

Date of crime: 2/14/2001

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Rodgers shot and killed his wife, Florence Henderson, at a daycare center where she worked. Rodgers killed her because he thought she was having an affair with her ex-husband. Children who were present at the daycare center testified Rodgers came to the center with a gun and shot Henderson as she attempted to run for the front door. Rodgers claimed they were struggling for the gun and did not mean to shoot her. Prosecutors argued Rodgers’ had a violent history with a previous robbery and manslaughter conviction. During sentencing, the defense argued Rodger should not receive the death penalty because he had a poor background and mild retardation.

Prosecutor(s): Linda Drane Burdick
Defense lawyer(s): Rowana Williams

Sources: Orlando Sentinel 10/23/03, 6/17/04; The Tallahassee Democrat 6/18/04; Florida Department of Corrections: www.dc.state.fl.us/oth/deathrow/

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John Troy—white, age 31

Sentenced to death in Sarasota Co., Florida

By: A judge, after an 11-1 jury recommendation of a death sentence.

Date of crime: 9/11/01

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Troy went to the apartment of a neighbor, 20-year-old Bonnie Carroll, raped her, bound her, and stabbed her to death with 44 knife wounds. Then he went to the home of an acquaintance, Tracie Burchette, and beat her badly with a two-by-four and stole her car—she recovered and identified him at trial. Troy had prior convictions for three armed robberies and an aggravated assault. He was on parole at the time was these crimes. Troy did not contest guilt. His mitigation evidence was that he had a terrible childhood, had spent most of his adult life in prison, and was high on cocaine and angry with his girlfriend at the time of these crimes.

Prosecutor(s): Debra Johnes Riva
Defense lawyer(s): Adam Tebrugge

Sources: Sarasota Herald-Tribune 8/19/03, 8/21/03, 8/26/03, 8/27/03, 1/24/04

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Ronnie K. Williams—black, age 30 (re-sentencing after an appellate reversal)

Sentenced to death in Broward County, Florida

By: A judge after a 10-2 recommendation of a death sentence by a jury

Date of crime: 1/26/93

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Williams raped, bit, and repeatedly stabbed 8-months’ pregnant 18-year-old Lisa Dyke. Dykes died 19 days later. (Her baby was born prematurely and with grave and lifelong physical disabilities as a result of the attack, a fact the jurors were not permitted to learn; nor were they permitted to know that Williams had been out of prison only seven months for a prior conviction for stabbing another woman to death.) Williams testified that he was so high on drugs and alcohol that he did not remember the killing of Dyke. The defense offered evidence of Williams’s horrible childhood.

Prosecutor(s): Deborah Zimet
Defense lawyer(s): Evan Baron, Hale Schantz

Sources: Miami Herald 11/4/03, 3/2/04, South Florida Sun-Sentinel 2/4/04, 2/11/04, 2/13/04, 3/2/04, 4/17/04

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Robert Arrington – white, age 53

Sentenced to death in Richmond County, Georgia

By: A jury

Date of crime: 4/3/2001

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Arrington robbed and beat to death his girlfriend, Kathy Hutchens in her home (and beat her German Shepherd to death, also). Arrington claimed he had found Hutchens in her house and was too scared to call the police. (Hutchens’ body was in fact discovered ten days later by her sister.) Arrington served five years in prison for strangling his wife in 1986, after he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. In the sentencing phase, the defense argued that the jury did not need to vote for the death penalty because a life sentence would still keep the community safe.

Prosecutor(s): Danny Craig, Michael Carlson
Defense lawyer(s): William Sussman, Jeffrey Bowman

Sources: Augusta Chronicle 4/28/04, 5/5/04, 5/6/04, 5/7/04, 5/11/04, 5/12/04

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Donnie Hulett, Jr. – white, age 20

Sentenced to death in Walker County, Georgia

By: A judge, after Hulett waived a jury for the penalty phase

Date of crime: 7/22/2002

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Hulett used a rifle to shoot, and also bludgeoned 69-year-old, Arvine Phleps and his brother Larry, 62, to death in order to steal a pickup truck. In mitigation, the defense presented evidence that Hulett had a terrible childhood filled with drugs and alcohol.

Prosecutor(s): Herbert Franklin Jr.
Defense lawyer(s): Larry Hill

Sources: Walker County Messenger (Georgia) 4/15/04, 4/16/04, 4/20/04, 4/21/04, 4/28/04, 4/29/04
 

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Reinaldo Rivera—Latino, age 36

Sentenced to death in Richmond County, Georgia

By: A jury

Date of crime: 9/4/00, victim survived until 9/9/00

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Rivera was a serial killer. This trial involved the rape-murder of Army Sgt. Marni Glista in her home. Rivera also admitted to the rape-murders of two 17-year-old girls in Aiken County in 1999, another of a 17-year-old girl in Augusta on 6/29/00, and the rape and attempted murder of an 18-year-old-girl in Augusta on 10/10/00 (who he later couldn’t believe had survived). The defense did not contest guilt. Mitigation was that he had been consumed by a sexual obsession since childhood that had eventually gotten out of control, and that he had good aspects to his life as a husband, father, and Navy veteran. The defense asked for a verdict of guilty but mentally ill. In the penalty phase, Rivera took the witness stand and advised the jury it should give him the death penalty because of the severity of his crimes, and because he would kill again if he were ever free.

Prosecutor(s): Ashley Wright, Danny Craig
Defense lawyer(s): Peter Johnson, Jacque Hawk

Sources: Augusta Chronicle 1/14/04, 1/15/04, 1/21/04, 1/24/04, 1/25/04, 2/13/04

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Joseph Williams – black, age 27

Sentenced to death in Chatham County, Georgia

By: A jury

Date of crime: 7/2001

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Williams was in prison for murder when he killed former police officer, Michael Deal. Williams killed Deal because Williams was afraid Deal would inform authorities about an escape plot being hatched by Williams and another inmate. Williams strangled Deal with an Ace bandage and hung a bed sheet in his cell to make it appear like a suicide. While awaiting trial for the Deal murder, Williams killed one inmate with multiple stab wounds from a prison shank, and attempted to kill another inmate the same way because he thought they were snitches. The defense offered no excuses for the murders.

Prosecutor(s): David Lock
Defense lawyer(s): Michael Edwards, Tammy Stockes

Sources: Associated Press Newswires 3/29/04, 4/6/04; Law Discussion Forum (accessed 10/4/04)

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Teodoro Baez—Latino, age 22

Sentenced to death in Cook County, Illinois

By: A judge. Baez pleaded guilty and waived sentencing by a jury.

Date of crime: 8/5/99

Prosecution’s case/defense response: In a drug dispute, Baez shot Juan Estrada twice and then slashed and stabbed him dozens of times with a samurai sword. He then lured Janet Mena, who was waiting in a car outside, into the apartment where he choked, kicked, and stabbed her repeatedly with the sword. He then dismembered the bodies and scattered the pieces around Chicago. The prosecution also presented evidence that he had assaulted one prisoner and one correctional officer in jail since his arrest. Baez also had a lengthy record of felonies. Baez told mental health professionals who interviewed him that he would welcome death as providing “closure.” The defense presented evidence of Baez’s hideous childhood

Prosecutor(s):John Murphy, Ray Brogan
Defense lawyer(s): Joseph Kennelly

Sources: Chicago Sun-Times 3/10/04; Chicago Tribune 3/10/04

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Ricardo Harris—black, age 34

Sentenced to death in Cook County, Illinois

By: A jury

Date of crime: 5/13/99

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Harris robbed a liquor store, shot to death two employees (Dipak Patel and Ambalal Patel), and shot two customers (Christina Chisnick and Helen Chisnick) who did not die and identified him. At the time, Harris was an escapee from custody in Michigan on two armed robbery charges, where he stole a gun from a police officer that he used in these killings. He also committed other violent crimes in Michigan and North Carolina. The defense attempted to cast doubt on the eyewitness identifications. Harris refused to attend the penalty phase, or to allow his lawyers to present mitigating evidence.

Prosecutor(s): Mike Deno, Donna Norton
Defense lawyer(s): Matthew McQuaid, Will Fahy

Sources: Chicago Tribune 2/6/04, 2/10/04; Chicago Sun-Times 2/10/04, 3/16/04

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Cecil Sutherland – white, age 31

Sentenced to death in Marion County, Illinois

By: A jury

Date of crime: 7/1/1987

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Sutherland kidnapped, beat, strangled, and raped 10-year-old Amy Schulz. Sutherland was convicted previously for the murder, but the Illinois Supreme Court ordered a retrial. The prosecution presented evidence that DNA analysis linked hairs that were found on the girl to Sutherland. The case went unsolved until Sutherland was arrested in Montana for shooting at a park ranger. The defense argued that a relative of the girl’s family, who was previously convicted of molestation, was responsible for the murder. During sentencing, Sutherland requested the death penalty.

Prosecutor(s): Gary Duncan
Defense lawyer(s): John Paul Carroll

Sources: Belleville News-Democrat 6/12/04; Chicago Tribune 5/3/04, 6/18/04

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Andrew Urdiales – white, age 31

Sentenced to death in Livingston County, Illinois

By: A jury

Date of crime: 1996

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Urdiales, a former Marine, shot and killed Cassandra Corum and dumped her body in the Vermilion River. Urdiales confessed to killing seven other women, two in the Chicago area and five in California between 1988 and 1996. While not mentioned in the news reports, it appears that these murders must have all involved kidnappings and sexual assaults, and death by both shooting and stabbing. Urdiales plead not guilty by reason of insanity, but later changed his plea to guilty but mentally ill; ultimately both pleas were rejected. In mitigation, the defense claimed Urdiales lacked mental capacity, was sexual abused and raised away from his mother. Urdiales had been on Death Row for the murders of the Chicago area women, but when Governor Ryan emptied death row Urdiales’s life was spared. However, the Corum murder case was still pending, and his death sentence in that case after the commutation made him the first Illinois prisoner to be sent back to Death Row.

Prosecutor(s): Thomas Brown
Defense lawyer(s): Steve Skelton, Jay Elmore

Sources: Chicago Sun-Times 3/5/04, 4/24/04, 5/25/04, 5/11/04, 8/18/04; Illinois Department of Corrections: www.idoc.state.il.us

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Fred Furnish—white, age 29 (re-sentencing after an appellate reversal)

Sentenced to death in Kenyon County, Kentucky

By: A jury

Date of crime: 1998

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Furnish committed a home invasion burglary/robbery during which he strangled 66-year-old Ramona Jean Williamson. He also pleaded guilty in another case to a home invasion burglary/robbery/ strangulation of 70-year-old Doris Bertsch.

Prosecutor(s):
Defense lawyer(s):

Sources: Cincinnati Post 7/20/02, 6/3/03; Cincinnati Enquirer 3/25/04
 

Christopher Arceneaux—black, age 18

Sentenced to death in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana

By: A jury

Date of crime: 10/27/02

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Arceneaux and another man—Richard LaViolette—approached neighbor Dena Mansour and her daughter who were cleaning out their car in their driveway. Arceneaux pointed the gun at the daughter and demanded “everything you’ve got.” When Dena said, “Call the police,” Arceneaux shot her in the chest. She died in the backseat of the car. The defense claimed the robbery scheme had been concocted by LaViolette (LaViolette argued in a later trial in which he was convicted of second-degree murder that he was an innocent bystander), but did not deny that Arceneaux fired the shot. Arceneaux claimed in a tearful recorded confession that he had panicked and fired accidentally. The daughter disputed this. In mitigation the defense presented members of Arceneaux’s church to testify that he had been a good child.

Prosecutor(s): Donnie Rowan, Doug Freese
Defense lawyer(s): Lee Faulkner, Cesar Vasquez

Sources: New Orleans Times-Picayune 3/18/04, 3/19/04

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Dustin Dressner – white, age 18

Sentenced to death in Jefferson Parish County, Louisiana

By: A jury

Date of crime: 6/6/2002

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Dressner killed Paul Fasullo and tried to kill Fasullo’s wife by stabbing her 20 times, while she attempted to protect her 2-year-old daughter. Dressner was one of three attackers who went to the Fasullo home. Fasullo’s wife identified Dressner as the attacker. The defense argued Dressner went to the Fasullo home for drugs and not to kill them. In mitigation, the defense said Dressner had a history of mental disorders, including bipolar disorder. The defense also urged the jury to consider that Dressner’s co-defendant received a life sentence, instead of the death penalty.

Prosecutor(s): Cameron Mary
Defense lawyer(s): Lee Faulker, Linda Davis-Short

Sources: The Baton Rouge Advocate 11/25/03, 5/26/04; Times-Picayune 11/21/03, 11/23/03, 12/30/03, 5/22/04, 5/25/04

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Donald Leger—white, age 32

Sentenced to death in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana

By: A jury

Date of crime: 12/11/01

Prosecution’s case/defense response: During a dispute with his ex-girlfriend, Leger pulled a gun, bound her hands, and forced her into his van. As he was driving, she managed to escape and went into a house to call the police. Leger searched for her and ended up at a mobile home where he thought she was hiding. He shot the couple in that home, Troy Salone (who died) and Evelyn Salone (who was seriously wounded, but survived to identify him at trial). His ex-girlfriend testified against him, also. The defense attempted to show that his confession was coerced. At the penalty phase, the defense put on evidence through his brother to show that Leger had a bad childhood.

Prosecutor(s): Jim McClelland, Vincent Borne
Defense lawyer(s): Craig Colwart, Natalie Broussard

Sources: AP 12/11/01; Telephone call to Vanessa Prichett, Managing Editor of the St. Mary & Franklin Banner-Tribune (who covered the case) 9/27/04

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Cory Maye—black, age 21

Sentenced to death in Jefferson Davis County, Mississippi

By: A jury

Date of crime: 12/26/01

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Police burst into Maye’s apartment yelling, “Police!” during a drug raid. Maye was in his bedroom. When police officer Ron Jones came through the doorway, Maye shot him in the abdomen just below his bulletproof vest. Jones died. The victim was the son of the police chief of the town of Prentiss. The defense attempted to prove that Maye did not know the persons breaking in were police officers, and that he was trying to protect his infant son, who was in the bedroom with him. In mitigation the defense pointed out Maye’s relative youth at the time of the shooting (21) and his lack of a prior criminal record.

Prosecutor(s): Claiborne “Buddy” McDonald IV, Doug Miller
Defense lawyer(s): Rhonda Cooper

Sources: Sun Herald (Biloxi) 12/28/01, 12/30/01; Clarion-Ledger (Jackson) 2/22/02; Telephone call with prosecutor Miller 9/27/04

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Mark Anthony Gill – black, age 31

Sentenced to death in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri

By: A jury

Date of crime: 7/12/2002

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Gill was living at Ralph Lape Jr.’s home to do yard work for him. Lape was out of town when Gill and Justin Brown were going through Lape’s bank records and discovered Lape had $100,000 in a bank account. To get to Lape’s money, Gill and Brown beat Lape and tied him up with duct tape. They drove Lape 90 miles out of town to a cornfield. They dug a grave shot Lape in the head, and buried him. Gill and Brown then stole Lape’s ATM card, but soon realized they could only withdrawal $400 at a time. Ultimately, they heard that in Las Vegas you can withdrawal any amount of money. They went to Las Vegas but were caught in New Mexico with Lape’s ATM card. The prosecution presented a videotaped confession from Gill. In mitigation, the defense presented evidence that Gill had a troubled childhood.

Prosecutor(s): Morely Swingle
Defense lawyer(s): Sharon Turlington, David Kenyon

Sources: Associated Press 3/5/04; St. Louis Post-Dispatch 3/6/04; Phone call with prosecutor Swingle 10/13/04
 

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Brian P. Wakefield—black, age 23

Sentenced to death in Atlantic County, New Jersey

By: A jury

Date of crime: 1/18/01

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Wakefield went to the door of the home of Richard and Shirley Hazard (ages 70 and 65). When Richard answered the door, Wakefield beat and stabbed him to death. Then Wakefield threw Shirley down the cellar stairs and kicked and stabbed her to death. He ransacked the home and took valuables, then set the house and bodies on fire and left in their car. Wakefield’s mitigation consisted of evidence of a traumatic childhood, and that he was high on bad drugs at the time of the killings.

Prosecutor(s): Cary Skill
Defense lawyer(s):

Sources: Press of Atlantic City 6/27/04; Star-Ledger (Newark) 2/7/04, 2/12/04

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Alfonso “Slinkey” Blake – black, age 32

Sentenced to death in Clark County, Nevada

By: A jury

Date of crime: 3/2003

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Blake killed two Sophear Choy and Priscilla Van Dine by shooting them twice in the head execution-style. At the same time he shot Sophear’s sister Kim twice in the head and left her for dead, but her rings partially deflected the shots and she survived to testify. Prosecutors argued that Blake was a musician and invited strippers to live in his home so he could live off their proceeds, but the victims refused to move into his home. Blake shot the women after he stabbed Sophear during an argument. The prosecution argued Blake was trying to get rid of any witnesses to the stabbing. The defense claimed Black was insane at the time of the murders.

Prosecutor(s): Robert Daskas
Defense lawyer(s): Peter S. Christiansen

Sources: The Las Vegas Review-Journal 3/7/03, 3/9/03, 5/30/03, 3/27/04, 3/24/04, 4/1/04; Nevada Department of Corrections: www.doc.nv.gov/

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John Badgett – white, age 34

Sentenced to death in Randolph County, North Carolina

By: A jury

Date of crime: 11/20/02

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Badgett confessed to killing 55-year-old, Grover Kiser, by stabbing him in the neck and stealing from the victim. Badgett claimed he killed Kiser in self-defense, after Kiser threatened him. The defense argued Kiser had a history of mental illness. In mitigation, the defense claimed Badgett had a difficult childhood, and saw his grandfather kill his father and was abused by his stepfather. A psychiatrist testified Badgett had a rare condition called, intermittent explosive disorder. Badgett had a history of assaults dating back to 1987.

Prosecutor(s): Andy Gregson
Defense lawyer(s): Clark Bell

Sources: Greensboro News & Record 4/20/04, 4/28/04, 5/4/04, 5/7/04; North Carolina Department of Correction: www.doc.state.nc.us/

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Kyle Berry—white, age 19 (re-sentencing as a result of an appellate reversal)

Sentenced to death in New Hanover County, North Carolina

By: A jury

Date of crime: 11/98

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Berry killed Lisa Maves (a crime for which he has been charged, but never tried). Then he killed 16-year-old acquaintance Theresa Fetter because she had learned from him of the Maves murder, and Berry was afraid Fetter would reveal the crime. He killed Fetter by hitting her with a metal pipe, and stabbing her 8 times in the head. Then he concealed her body in secluded area. The defense pointed out that there was no proof that Berry had killed Maves, except for a friend of Fetter’s who testified that Fetter had confided to her that Berry had killed Maves. The defense presented mitigating evidence of Berry’s terrible childhood, drug addiction, and mental problems including bipolar disorder.

Prosecutor(s): Todd Fennell, Dru Lewis
Defense lawyer(s): Thomas Maher, Ed West

Sources: Star-News (NC) 2/25/04, 2/26/04, 3/6/04, 3/9/04, 3/10/04, 3/11/04

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Jason Hurst—white, age 23

Sentenced to death in Randolph County, North Carolina

By: A jury

Date of crime: 6/9/02

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Hurst needed money and a car to go see his pregnant ex-girlfriend. He lured victim Daniel Branch to a field on the pretext of test-firing a shotgun Hurst claimed he might buy. Hurst then shot Branch in the abdomen with the shotgun, then in the side as Branch was trying to flee, and then in the face as Branch was lying on his back. Hurst stole Branch’s car. Hurst confessed to the crime, and his lawyers admitted at trial that he committed the murder. But they argued that due to a mental defect (borderline personality disorder) he shot Branch during a transient disassociative episode when he was so fixated on going to see his ex-girlfriend that he did not think of alternatives; thus, he did not have sufficient capacity to formulate the premeditation necessary for first-degree murder, and should only be convicted of second-degree murder. During the penalty phase the defense renewed its claim of mental incapacity, pointing out that in his confession Hurst seemed unable to explain why he had killed Branch. The defense also offered evidence of Hurst’s troubled childhood, and his drinking and drug usage.

Prosecutor(s): Andy Gregson, Garland Yates
Defense lawyer(s): Jon Megerian, Frank Wells

Sources: Courier-Tribune (Asheville) 3/13/04; Greensboro News & Record 3/16/04, 3/10/04

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 John Drummond, Jr.—black, age 25

Sentenced to death in Mahoning County, Ohio

By: A jury

Date of crime: 3/23/03

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Drummond was involved in gang activities, and wanted to take revenge against Jiyen Dent, Sr. because he had been hanging out with people Drummond suspected of killing a relative of his. Drummond obtained an AK-47 assault rifle, and his accomplice Wayne Gilliam drove him to Dent’s home. Drummond got out of the car, walked toward the house, and fired 12 shots into the home. One of them struck 3-month-old Jiyen Dent, Jr., in the head, killing him. Drummond asserted innocence throughout the proceedings. In mitigation, the defense presented evidence of Drummond’s troubled childhood and the kill-or-be-killed gang milieu in which he was immersed.

Prosecutor(s): Timothy Franken, Kelly Johns
Defense lawyer(s): James Gentile, Ronald Yarwood

Sources: Youngstown Vindicator 8/24/03, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 4/5/03, www.wkbn.com (Youngstown) 2/20/04, 2/23/04

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Marvin Johnson – black, age 36

Sentenced to death in Belmont County, Ohio

By: A jury

Date of crime: 08/2003

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Johnson kidnapped and beat to death his ex-girlfriend’s 13-year-old son, Daniel Bailey. During opening statements, a defense attorney told the jury that Johnson was guilty but should not receive the death penalty. Johnson terminated his defense attorneys. Johnson called his ex-girlfriend to testify, and then explained to her how he killed her son. Johnson rehired his attorneys for the mitigation phase, where his statement was read stating, he believed he deserved the death penalty. When the judge handed down the sentence, Johnson showed no remorse and thanked the judge for the death penalty.

Prosecutor(s): Daniel Padden
Defense lawyer(s): Andrew Warhola

Sources: Times Recorder 6/2/04, 6/5/04; Ohio Department of Corrections: www.drc.state.oh.us/

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Donald Ketterer—white, age 53

Sentenced to death in Butler County, Ohio

By: A 3-judge panel, after pleading guilty and waiving a jury

Date of crime: 2/24/03

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Ketterer beat 85-year-old Lawrence Sanders with a skillet and tortured him with scissors and a knife during a robbery. Sanders had been like a father to Ketterer, by Ketterer’s own admission. The defense claimed Kettered was on a “bender” after taking illegal and prescription drugs and alcohol when he killed Sanders. A defense psychologist also testified that Ketterer had bipolar disorder and was borderline mentally retarded. Ketterer expressed remorse and asked for leniency.

Prosecutor(s): Robin Piper
Defense lawyer(s): Greg Howard, Chris Pagan

Sources: Cincinnati Post 1/28/04; Cincinnati Enquirer 2/5/04; Dayton Daily News 2/4/04, 2/5/04

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Termane Wood – black, age 22

Sentenced to death in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma

By: A jury

Date of crime: 1/1/2002

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Ronald Wipf and Arnold Kleinsasser picked up two women who said they were prostitutes, and took them back to their hotel room. In fact, the women were girlfriends of Termane Wood and his brother Zjaiton who were setting Wipf and Kleinsasser up to be robbed. The masked Wood brothers burst into the hotel room and killed Wipf with a stab wound to the chest as he struggled during the robbery. Kleinsasser was hit over the head with a knife, but managed to escape. He testified and identified Termane Wood person who stabbed Wipf. However, Zjaiton testified that he, not Termane, had stabbed Wipf. At the time, Zjaiton was awaiting his own capital murder trial for the Wipf stabbing. The brothers had committed another armed robbery earlier in the evening. In mitigation the defense presented Termane’s mother, who pleaded for his life.

Prosecutor(s): George Burnett, Fern Smith
Defense lawyer(s): Johnny Albert, Lance Phillips

Sources: The Daily Oklahoman 3/28/04, 4/1/04, 4/3/04, 4/6/04

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Jesse Lee Johnson—black, age 36

Sentenced to death in Marion County, Oregon

By: A jury

Date of crime: 3/20/98

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Johnson robbed Harriet Thompson in her home, stabbed her repeatedly, and slashed her throat. Johnson had a long record of violent crime. The defense attacked the prosecution’s circumstantial proof at the guilt/innocence phase, and Johnson claimed innocence throughout the proceedings. During the penalty phase the defense presented evidence of Johnson’s terrible childhood, his drug problems and low IQ, and that he had behaved well for six years in jail pending trial. (Note: the case took six years to reach trial because twice the judge suppressed physical evidence due to an illegal search and the prosecution appealed and lost both rulings.)

Prosecutor(s): Darin Tweedt, Steve Dingle
Defense lawyer(s): Lindsay Partridge, Noel Grefenson

Sources: Statesman Journal (Salem) 3/19/04, 3/23/04, 3/26/04, 3/27/04

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Junious Diggs—black, age 26

Sentenced to death in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

By: A jury

Date of crime: 3/16/02

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Diggs went to the apartment of Marilyn J. Bryant. She had instructed her children not to let him in. When he arrived, Bryant’s daughter, who was sitting outside, told him not to enter, but he did so. The daughter followed him in and saw him begin arguing with her mother. The daughter then saw Diggs shoot her mother multiple times in the face and body, with several of the shots inflicted as she was lying on the floor. Throughout the proceedings Diggs denied that he had committed the murder despite the eyewitness testimony of the daughter and another person who saw him enter the apartment. He twice declined plea offers that would have avoided a death sentence. In mitigation the defense presented evidence of his horrific childhood.

Prosecutor(s): Debra Watson-Stokes
Defense lawyer(s): Daniel Connor

Sources: Philadelphia Inquirer 3/18/02; Telephone call 9/28/04 with Defense Counsel Conner and on 9/27/04 with his office manager Susan Mills Tarrington.

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Mark Duane Edwards, Jr. – black, age 19

Sentenced to death in Fayette County, Pennsylvania

By: A jury

Date of crime: 4/14/2002

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Edwards killed a family and then set their home on fire to try to cover up the murders. Edwards shot Larry Bobish Sr., his wife, Joanna, and their pregnant daughter, Krystal over stolen drugs. Larry Sr., started selling drugs to support Joanna and Krystal’s drug habit. Edwards admitted to stealing drugs from Larry, but claimed he was asleep at his grandmother’s house at the time of the murders. Edwards also shot 12-year-old, Larry Bobish Jr. in the head. Larry Jr., survived and testified that Edwards was the killer. During sentencing, the defense argued that Edwards was borderline mentally retarded and was addicted to drugs at the time of the murders.

Prosecutor(s): Nancy Vernon
Defense lawyer(s): Susan Ritz Harper, Dianne Zerega

Sources: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 5/6/04, 5/8/04, 5/18/04; Pennsylvania Department of Corrections: www.cor.state.pa.us

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Troy Burkhart—white, age unknown (re-sentencing after an appellate reversal)

Sentenced to death in Anderson County, South Carolina

By: A jury

Date of crime: 11/16/97

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Burkhart shot and killed three people who had been riding with him in a pickup truck. Two of the people were shot after they were disabled on the ground. All were shot multiple times. Burkhart claimed he killed the people in self-defense when they threatened to rape and murder him at the behest of his uncle, who was an enemy of Burkhart’s father.

Prosecutor(s):
Defense lawyer(s):

Sources: State v. Burkhart, 565 S.E.2d 298 (S.C. 2002); Greenville News 6/18/02

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Marion Lindsey—white, age 27

Sentenced to death in Spartanburg County, South Carolina

By: A jury

Date of crime: 9/18/02

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Ruby Nell Lindsey had obtained a restraining order against her estranged husband Marion. He still harassed her, so she asked a friend to drive her and her two children to the Inman, South Carolina, police station. Marion caught up with them in the parking lot of the station and shot her to death as she tried to hide in the backseat of the car. The aggravating circumstance charged in the case was creating great risk of harm to the other three people in the car. The defense argued that the conviction should be for manslaughter because Lindsey had become enraged due to his wife’s refusal to let him visit his children, had blocked his phone calls, and her refusal to talk to him in the car in the parking lot had caused his rage to boil over. In mitigation Lindsey pleaded to be allowed to live so he could continue to be a father to his children.

Prosecutor(s): Trey Goudy
Defense lawyer(s): Mike Bartosh

Sources: Fox Carolina WHNS 9/19/02; The State (Columbia, SC) 5/23/04; Myrtle Beach Sun-News (SC) 5/23/04; Augusta Chronicle (GA) 5/25/04

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*Eric Dale Morgan—white, age 17

Sentenced to death in Spartanburg County, South Carolina

By: A jury

Date of crime: 5/3/00

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Morgan, then 17 years old, and his then 16-year-old accomplice Brandon Duncan planned to rob a convenience store. (Duncan was convicted of murder in 2002 and sentenced to 40 years in prison.) Two days before the robbery they lay in wait as the store closed but decided not to proceed because there were two people closing the store, and Morgan and Duncan did not want to have to dispose of two bodies and two cars. Two days later Morgan shot store clerk Jerry Smith once in the head with a rifle in the parking lot after Smith closed the store. The boys took over $7,000 he was carrying and disposed of his body miles away. Police found a pipe bomb in Morgan’s possession, and he admitted to a plan to blow up the store and ransack the rubble before he discovered that the clerk took the money out each night after closing. In defense Morgan claimed he hadn’t planned to kill the clerk, but had fired when the clerk raised a gun to try to prevent the robbery. In mitigation the defense pointed to Morgan’s juvenile status at the time of the crime, his difficult childhood, and his low IQ.

Prosecutor(s): Trey Gowdy, Derrick Bulsa
Defense lawyer(s): Clay Allen, Roger Poole

Sources: Herald-Journal (Spartanburg) 3/5/04, 3/6/04, 3/7/04, 3/10/04; The State (Columbia) 3/8/04, www.thecarolinachannel.com 3/9/04

*Included for informational completeness; but this defendant, who was 17 at the time of the murder, will have his death sentence vacated under a United States Supreme Court decision in handed down in March, 2005, that prohibits death sentences for defendants who were less than 18 years of age at the time of the murder.


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Kenneth “Pat” Bondurant—white, age unknown (re-sentencing after an appellate reversal)

Sentenced to death in Giles County, Tennessee

By: A jury

Date of crime: 10/86

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Bondurant beat a man to death with a child’s rocking chair who he thought was cheating at cards. The beating continued for half an hour after the man was dead, and left only a small piece of the rocking chair intact. Then Bondurant and his brother Pete dismembered the body, transported it to their parents’ home, and burned it. Bondurant and his brother Pete were also found guilty in another murder case (for which each received 25-year sentences) that involved rape, torture, multiple bludgeoning wounds, gunshot wounds, and burning the body.

Prosecutor(s):
Defense lawyer(s):

Sources: State v. Bondurant, 1996 WL 275021 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1996) (unpublished); State v. Bondurant, 4 S.W.3d 662 (Tenn. 1999)

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Robert Joe Hood—black, age 33

Sentenced to death in Shelby County, Tennessee

By: A jury

Date of crime: 2/7/01

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Hood shot ex-girlfriend Toni Banks in the head in her apartment because she knew too much about his earlier crimes, and to get money to get out of town. He killed her in front of her two children and left them locked in the apartment with her body. The earlier crimes (which were presented in evidence during the penalty phase) were a home invasion burglary/robbery/murder in late 2000. After killing Banks, Hood went to Colorado where he committed another murder during the robbery of a liquor store, and a robbery/kidnapping that did not include a murder. (Hood had been convicted of the crimes in Colorado before he was brought back to Memphis to face the capital charge.) During a portion of the trial Hood had to be shackled because he had threatened one of his lawyers.

Prosecutors: Amy Weirich, Steve Jones
Defense lawyer(s):

Sources: Memphis Commercial Appeal 4/11/04, 5/5/04, 5/7/04; Gazette (Colorado Springs) 5/11/04

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Joel Richard Schmeiderer—white, age 21

Due to a change of venue, sentenced to death in Murray County for a crime that was committed in Wayne County, Tennessee

By: A jury

Date of crime: 6/2001

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Schmeiderer was in prison for life for murder and other crimes. While awaiting trial on that case he had escaped once, and tried to escape another time. As a lifer, he then strangled inmate Tom Harris with a sock. Harris bit Schmeiderer’s finger during the struggle, and Schmeiderer’s blood was found in both the victim’s cell and Schmeiderer’s. Additionally, an eyewitness saw him leaving the victim’s cell. The motive for the slaying was not totally clear, but Schmeiderer had told another inmate that he had to commit another crime to get back into the trial system so as to perhaps have opportunities to escape. Schmeiderer’s co-conspirator Chuck Sanderson was convicted of Harris’s murder, but was spared a death sentence by a separate jury. At the penalty phase the defense presented evidence of Schmeiderer’s rotten childhood, and alleged recent religious conversion.

Prosecutor(s): Doug Dicus, Patrick Butler
Defense lawyer(s): Claudia Jack, Shipp Weems

Sources: State v. Schmeiderer, 2000 WL 1681030 (Tenn. Crim. App.) (unpublished); telephone call with prosecutor Dicus 11/1/04; www.tennessean.com

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Guy Allen—black, age 38

Sentenced to death in Travis County, Texas

By: A jury

Date of crime: 4/3/02

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Allen stabbed his girlfriend, Barbara Hill, and her daughter to death with a pocketknife, after Hill attempted to end the relationship with Allen. Prosecutors presented the 911 tape from the daughter and various crime scene photographs, demonstrating the violent nature of the crime to the jury. During the sentencing phase, Allen’s ex-wife testified regarding Allen’s previous violent behavior. The prosecution also presented evidence that Allen killed another man in a dispute over a gold chain in 1994. In mitigation, the defense argued that Allen was molested as a child and had a rough childhood.

Prosecutor(s): Gary Cobb, Allison Wetzel
Defense lawyer(s): Joe James Sawyer

Sources: Austin American-Statesman 3/11/04, 3/17/04, 3/18/04, 3/19/04, 3/20/04, 3/21/04

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Kenisha Berry—black, age 20

Sentenced to death in Jefferson County, Texas

By: A jury

Date of crime: 1998

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Berry abandoned her newborn daughter in a ditch in 2003. The 2003 abandonment helped police solve another child abandonment case, where the newborn baby died five years earlier. In 1998, Berry smothered her son by taping his mouth with duct tape and left him in a dumpster. Berry confessed to abandoning her daughter, but testified her son was already dead when she abandoned him. Prosecution presented evidence that DNA determined she was the abandoned boy’s mother, and her fingerprint was on the duct tape. In mitigation the defense presented evidence that Berry was severely, clinically depressed. The defense also argued that since she was only dangerous to her children, and she would not have children in prison, she constitued no continuing danger to society.

Prosecutor(s): Wendell Radford
Defense lawyer(s): Ronnie Cohee

Sources: Houston Chronicle, 8/10/03, 2/17/04, 2/19/04;  Austin American-Statesman, 2/20/04

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Richard Cobb—white, age 18

Sentenced to death in Cherokee County, Texas

By: A jury

Date of crime: 9/2/02

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Cobb and co-defendant Beunka Adams robbed a convenience store, and then forced two store clerks, Nikki Ansley Dement and Candace Driver, and a customer, Kenneth Vandever, into their car. After kidnapping the victims and sexually assaulting Dement, Cobb and Adams shot each of them after forcing them to kneel. Vandever died of his injuries, while Dement and Driver survived.

Prosecutor(s): Elmer Beckworth
Defense lawyer(s): S. Hogan Stripling

Sources: Houston Chronicle, 9/5/02; Tyler Morning Telegraph 8/21/04, 8/31/04

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Edgardo Cubas – Latino, age 23

Sentenced to death in Harris County, Texas

By: A jury

Date of crime: 1/19/02

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Cubas confessed to killing 15-year-old Esmeralda Alvarado. Cubas was involved in a rampage of five slayings and four robberies or attempted kidnappings. Cubas and Walter Alexander Sorto kidnapped Alvarado from a convenience store, took turns raping her, and then Cubas shot her in the head. Cubas claimed he did not want to kill Alvarado, but Sorto made him. The defense argued that the police should have notified Cubas, who is a native of Honduras, of his rights in the United States legal system. The defense also argued that there were points when the video recorder was not on during Cubas interview with detectives. In mitigation, the defense argued Cubas was traumatized by the death of his brother and was influenced by Sorto.

Prosecutor(s): Troy Cotton, Lyn McClellan
Defense lawyer(s): Gilberto Villarreal, Frances Northcutt

Sources: Houston Chronicle 5/6/04, 5/11/04, 5/12/04, 5/22/04, 8/20/04; Texas Department of Criminal Justice: http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/deathrow.htm

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Anthony Doyle – Black, age 18

Sentenced to death in Dallas County, Texas

By: A jury

Date of crime: 1/16/2003

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Doyle phoned a donut shop pretending to be an elderly woman and placed an order to be delivered to his parents’ home. When Hyun Cho arrived at the Doyle home, Doyle confessed he tried to rob her and beat her to death when she said she had no money. After Doyle killed Cho, he put her in a garbage can in an alley. Doyle cleaned up the house and repainted the walls to conceal Cho’s blood on them. Doyle then retrieved the donuts and ate them with his friends after the killing. Investigators found Cho’s blood on the ceiling and Doyle’s bloody clothing. Doyle claimed he only intended to rob Cho and only struck her twice to knock her unconscious. The prosecution claimed Cho was struck at least seven times on her head with a baseball bat. Doyle robbed Cho because he was unable to find a job and needed to provide for his 3-year-old daughter. During the punishment phase, the prosecution presented testimony of Doyle’s history of violence, and letter Doyle wrote from jail bragging about getting into fights with other inmates. The defense argued Doyle had no previous felony criminal record.

Prosecutor(s): Tom D’Amore
Defense lawyer(s): Rick Harrison, Robert Burns

Sources: The Dallas Morning News 5/4/04, 5/6/04, 5/11/04; Texas Department of Criminal Justice: http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/deathrow.htm

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Cleve Foster—white, age 38

Sentenced to death in Tarrant County, Texas
By: A jury

Date of crime: 2/14/02

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Foster and his co-defendant, Sheldon Ward, raped and killed execution-style 28-year-old Nyanuer “Mary” Pal. Foster’s semen was found on the victim’s body, and the gun used to kill Pal was in Foster’s hotel room. The defense theory was that Foster’s co-defendant acted alone in the killing, and Foster only had consensual sex with the victim. During the penalty phase, the prosecutors linked Foster to a 1984 robbery and the killing of another woman. In mitigation, the defense argued Foster suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder from being in the Army, and was abused by his alcoholic father.

Prosecutor(s): Ben Leonard, Lloyd Whelchel
Defense lawyer(s): Rex Barnett, John Harding

Sources: Forth-Worth Star-Telegram 2/7/04, 2/10/04, 2/13/04

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Tomas Gallo—Latino, age 24

Sentenced to death in Harris County, Texas

By: A jury

Date of crime: 12/11/01

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Gallo tortured, sexually assaulted and killed his girlfriend’s three-year-old daughter while babysitting her. Prosecution presented evidence that Gallo’s blood stained clothes contained DNA from Gallo and the child. During the trial the defense claimed the actual killer was the child’s mother and not Gallo. In the penalty phase, the defense argued that Gallo was mentally retarded. The jury determined Gallo was not mentally retarded, enabling them to sentence him to death.

Prosecutor(s): Lance Long
Defense lawyer(s): Gerald Bourque, Robert Morrow

Sources: Houston Chronicle 1/2/03, 2/4/04, 2/13/04, 2/19/04

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Rodrigo Hernandez – Latino, age 22

Sentenced to death in Bexar County, Texas

By: A jury

Date of crime: 2/19/1994

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Hernandez kidnapped, raped and strangled 38-year-old Susan Verstegen. Hernandez dumped her body in a garbage can. The case went unsolved for eight years and Hernandez was caught when he was leaving a prison out of state and had to give a DNA sample and the DNA matched DNA found in Verstegen’s body and car. Hernandez confessed during questioning and told the detective he was under the influence of marijuana and alcohol. The defense presented no evidence to the jury. During the penalty phase, prosecution argued Hernandez had a criminal history and showed no remorse.

Prosecutor(s): Jim Wheat, Melisa Skinner
Defense lawyer(s): Mario Trevino

Sources: San Antonio Express-News 3/19/04, 3/23/04; Texas Department of Criminal Justice: http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/deathrow.htm

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Damon Matthews – black, age 18

Sentenced to death in Harris County, Texas

By: A jury

Date of crime: 3/6/2003

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Matthews arranged a meeting with 20-year-old Esphandiar Gonzalez to sell him stereo equipment. Matthews shot Gonzalez seven times in the head and dumped his body. Matthews was arrested at car wash when he was trying to clean off the blood from his car; police found the gun that was used to kill Gonzalez in the car too. The defense argued Matthews had nothing to do with the killing and Matthews was given the car that night by a person he refused to identify because he was afraid of retribution. Defense also claimed Gonzalez was a gang member and was killed because he was attempting to sever ties to the gang. In aggravation, the prosecution presented evidence of Matthews previous convictions of drug and gun possession and robbery. In mitigation, the defense argued Matthews should not receive the death penalty because of his difficult upbringing. Matthews was raised by his aunt because his mother was a prostitute and addict who died when he was young.

Prosecutor(s): Stephen St. Martin
Defense lawyer(s): Windi Akins, Katherine Scardino

Sources: Houston Chronice 4/7/04

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Carroll Parr – black, age 25

Sentenced to death in McLennan County, Texas

By: A jury

Date of crime: 1/11/2003

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Parr was an admitted drug dealer. In a deal with 18-year-old Joel Dominguez, Parr paid $2500 for seven pounds of marijuana. Then he circled around the block and robbed Dominguez of the money, and shot him in the head. He also ordered his cohort Earl Duane Whiteside to “smoke” (kill) Dominguez’s companion—Whiteside did so, but the companion was only injured and fled. The companion testified against Parr at trial. The defense claimed that Parr had send Whiteside to do the deal, that Whiteside had killed Dominguez, and that Whiteside had turned state’s evidence to deflect the blame onto Parr. In the penalty phase the prosecution presented evidence that Parr had bragged of killing another person, and that he was violent while incarcerated. In mitigation, the defense argued Parr grew up in poverty and suffered from a brain injury as a child.

Prosecutor(s): Mike Freeman, Crawford Long, Melanie Walker
Defense lawyer(s): Russ Hunt Jr., Russ Hunt Sr.

Sources: Cox News Service 3/30/04, 5/19/04, 5/20/04, 5/22/04, 5/25/04, 5/26/04, 5/27/04; Texas Department of Criminal Justice: http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/deathrow.htm

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Juan Reynosa – Latino, age 23

Sentenced to death in Harris County, Texas

By: A jury

Date of crime: 3/2/2003

Prosecution’s case/defense response: As part of a crime spree that included possibly as many as eight robberies in a short time span, Reynosa knocked down and shot in the head a homeless woman, Tonya Lynn Riedel, during a robbery behind a gas station. Reynosa requested the death penalty and the defense did not call any witnesses in the penalty phase. The prosecution said Reynosa was a suspect in eight other armed robberies.

Prosecutor(s): Michael Trent, Luci Davidson
Defense lawyer(s): Robert Scott

Sources: Houston Chronicle 3/9/03, 5/13/04; Texas Department of Criminal Justice: http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/deathrow.htm

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Kent Sprouse—white, age 28

Sentenced to death in Ellis County, Texas

By: A jury

Date of crime: 10/6/02

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Sprouse entered a convenience store in possession of a shotgun and told customers he needed help jump-starting his car. Outside the convenience store, Sprouse fatally shot Pedro Moreno while he was pumping gas, and then killed Officer Harry Steinfeld III who responded to the 911 call. Defense pled that Sprouse was not guilty by reason of insanity. In mitigation, the defense argued Sprouse did not present a future danger to society.

Prosecutor(s): Cindy Hellstern, Don Maxfield
Defense lawyer(s): James Jenkins

Sources: Houston Chronicle 10/9/02; The Fort Worth Star-Telegram 10/11/02, 10/18/02

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John Allen Muhammad—black, age 41

Sentenced to death in Prince William County, Virginia

By: A jury

Date of crime: multiple murders in 10/02

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Muhammad was one of the culprits in the notorious “Beltway Sniper” killing spree. He and Lee Boyd Malvo committed ten murders in the Washington area and three murders in the south. Prosecution presented numerous witnesses putting Muhammad at the scene of the shootings. The defense objected to a judge’s ruling that enabled prosecutors to get around the requirement that allows only triggermen to be prosecuted for the death penalty under the multiple murder law. During the sentencing phase, prosecutors presented evidence that Muhammad has already attempted to escape from jail, and when he was arrested possessed a stolen laptop which contained locations where he planned more shootings.

Prosecutor(s): Paul F. Ebert
Defense lawyer(s): Jonathan Shapiro, Peter B. Greenspun

Sources: L.A. Times 11/19/03, 11/25/03

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Leon Winston—black, age 21

Sentenced to death in Lynchburg, Virginia

By: A jury

Date of crime: 4/19/02

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Winston and an accomplice broke into a house and shot and killed Anthony and Ronda Robinson during an armed robbery. Ronda was pregnant with her third child, and was fleeing for safety with her children when she was shot. The prosecution presented evidence that Winston was at the scene and his DNA was found on the murder weapon. In the punishment phase of the trial, the prosecution presented evidence of Winston’s prior convictions of abduction and robbery. The defense argued in mitigation, Winston’s mother drank and used cocaine while she was pregnant with him, and he was borderline mentally retarded.

Prosecutor(s): William Petty, Michael Doucette
Defense lawyer(s):

Sources: Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney, Lynchburg, Virginia (Press Release) 6/13/03; Associated Press 6/15/03; Death Penalty News & Updates, http://www.vadp.org/cases/lwinston.htm

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Alfred Bourgeois—black, age 37

Sentenced to death in federal court, Southern District of Texas

By: A jury

Date of crime: 6/28/02

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Bourgeois tortured his two-year-old daughter for six weeks while he had custody, eventually killing her with blows to the head. Because the daughter’s injury was reported on military property, the case went to federal court. At first, Bourgeois claimed his daughter fell from the truck, but medical experts determined a fall could not have caused the child’s injuries. At the penalty phase the prosecution presented evidence of Bourgeois's long history of domestic violence. In mitigation, the defense argued that Bourgeois was a victim of abuse.

Prosecutor(s): Patti Hubert Booth, Elsa Salinas Patterson, Tony R. Roberts
Defense lawyer(s): John Gilmore, Doug Tinker

Sources: Times-Picayune 3/18/04, 3/26/04; U.S. Department of Justice (Press Release) 3/24/04; Death Penalty Information Center, http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org

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Meier Jason Brown—black, age 32

Sentenced to death in Federal court in the Southern District of Georgia

By: A jury

Date of crime: 11/30/02

Prosecution’s case/defense response:  Brown robbed the post office in the small town of Fleming, Georgia.  He stabbed the post-mistreess, Sallie Gaglia, to death, with 10 wounds.  Brown had a long criminal record.  The defense claimed that Brown had accidentally stabbed the victim the first time as he scrambled over the counter, and had then panicked.  In mitigation, the defense presented evidence of Brown’s difficult upbringing, which included a largely absent father who had shot Brown’s older brother, and a household plagued by fighting, drugs, and drinking.  The defense also presented numerous witnesses to testify that Brown was normally and caring, gentle, church-going, hard-working person who had done many good deeds, and who had been a sedate inmate.

Prosecutor(s): William Frentzen, Joseph D. Newman
Defense counsel:

Sources: U.S. v Brown, 441 F.3d 1330 (11^th Cir. 2006); press release, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia 3/15/06.

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Sherman Fields – black, age 26

Sentenced to death in federal court in Western District of Texas

By: A jury

Date of crime: 11/6/2001

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Fields was angry with his girlfriend, Suncerey Coleman, after he learned she got pregnant by another man. Fields was in jail at the time, but bribed a guard to assist him in escaping. He took Coleman from the hospital where she was caring for her baby and shot her twice in the head. Fields’ former girlfriend testified that Fields confessed to killing Coleman, and other inmates testified Fields bragged about having sex with Coleman before he killed her. Fields represented himself until the penalty phase and claimed he was innocent and there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime. In mitigation, the defense argued that Fields was suicidal and had a possible diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Fields also had a difficult childhood because he was abused by his mother’s boyfriend and saw his grandfather killed.

Prosecutor(s): Jake Snyder, Greg Gloff
Defense lawyer(s): Scott Peterson, Rob Swanton

Sources: Cox News Service 1/27/04, 1/28/04, 2/3/04, 2/4/04, 2/7/04, 4/9/04

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William LeCroy Jr. —white, age 31

Sentenced to death in federal court, Northern District of Georgia

By: A jury

Date of crime: 10/7/01

Prosecution’s case/defense response: LeCroy was robbing Joann Tiesler, when she arrived home and he raped and stabbed her to death. After the murder, LeCroy stole the victim’s car and got as far as the Canadian border before he was arrested. The case went to federal court because it fell under the federal carjacking statute. The defense argued the case should have never been in federal court in the first place because LeCroy’s actions did not fit under the federal carjacking statute.

Prosecutor(s): Dan Summer
Defense lawyer(s): Roger Queen

Sources: Atlanta Constitution, 10/10/01, 10/11/01, 3/11/04; Criminal Defense Lawyer News 2/16/04; Death Penalty Information Center, http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org

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Lezmond Mitchell—Native American, age 20

 Sentenced to death in Federal court, District of Arizona

 By: A jury

 Date of crime: 10/28/01

 Prosecution’s case/defense response: Mitchell and cohorts formed a plan to rob a trading post, and decided to steal a vehicle to use in the robbery.  They posed as hitchhikers, and Alyce Slim and her 9-year-old granddaughter Tiffany Lee picked up Mitchell and another man.  When Slim stopped to let them out, they killed her with 33 stab wounds, and then drove Lee into the mountains where Mitchell slit her throat, and when she wouldn’t die, threw heavy rocks at her head.  The men left, but later returned to chop the heads and hands off the bodies in an attempt to foil identification.  Three days later, Mitchell and his cohorts robbed the trading post.  The carjacking made it a death-eligible case under federal law.  The defense argued that Mitchell had been more of a passive participant, and that one of the other accomplices had done most of the heinous actions.  A letter from the Navajo Nation was read to the jury at the sentencing hearing asking that the death penalty not be imposed since it was contrary to Navajo tribal custom and culture.  At the time of his sentencing, Mitchell became the only Native American on federal death row.

 Prosecutor(s): Vincent Q. Kirby, Kurt M. Altman
 Defense counsel: John M. Sears

 Sources: Navajo Times 11/15/01 (2001 WLNR 9797467), 11/29/01 (2001 WLNR 9787205), 10/5/03 (2003 WLNR 3336566); Gallup Independent 5/13/03, (gallupindependent.com/2003/05-13-03deathpenalty.html), 5/21/03 ((gallupindependent.com/2003/05-13-03killer.html).

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Wesley Ira Purkey—white, age 46

Sentenced to death in Federal court, Western District of Missouri

By: A jury

Date of crime:  1/22/98

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Purkey, who had a long criminal history (including an attempted murder), was in jail in Kansas charged with the murder of 80-year-old Mary Ruth Bales.  He had bludgeoned her to death in her home during a robbery when he was there working for a plumbing company.  While awaiting trial, Purkey summoned federal authorities and offered to confess to another murder in which there was federal jurisdiction if he could serve his sentence in federal prison, which he deemed to be a superior place to serve time.  He then confessed to kidnapping, sexually assaulting, and fatally stabbing 16-year-old Jennifer Long, then dismembering her body, burning it in a fireplace, and disposing of the ashes.  He also said he had transported her across state lines during the kidnapping (from Missouri to Kansas), thus making it a federal offense.  It is the Long killing for which he received a death sentence.  At trial, Purkey tried to defeat federal jurisdiction by claiming that he had lied about transporting the victim across the state line.  In the penalty phase, the defense presented evidence that he had suffered brain damage earlier in his life.  (Despite the seeming irrationality of confessing to a murder the authorities would not have otherwise discovered, with the goal of serving time in federal prison, Purkey in fact achieved his objective—although it is doubtful that incarceration on federal death row was quite what he had in mind.)

Prosecutor(s):
Defense counsel:

Sources: U.S. v. Purkey, 428 F.3d 738 (8^th Cir. 2005); Kansas City Star 10/30/98 (1998 WLNR 179015), 10/31/98 (1998 WLNR 7199174), 10/28/01 (2001 WLNR 154824); Wichita Eagle 6/11/00 (2000 WLNR 1007068); AP Alert 1/24/04 (APALERTKS 03:12:19).

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Gary Lee Sampson—white, age 41

Sentenced to death in federal court, District of Massachusetts

By: A jury

Date of crime: 7/01

Prosecution’s case/defense response: During a week-long crime spree,, Sampson was hitchhiking and killed the people who picked him up — an elderly man and college student. Sampson stabbed both of his victims to death after tying them up. He also strangled another victim and committed an additional carjacking and attempted murder. Sampson confessed and pled guilty to the killings, but a jury was impaneled for the sentencing. In the punishment phase, the defense argued Sampson was mentally ill. Because Massachusetts does not have a state death penalty, the judge ordered the execution to take place in New Hampshire, where Sampson faces other murder charges.

Prosecutor(s): Michael Sullivan
Defense lawyer(s): David Ruhnke

Sources: Boston Globe 12/24/03, 1/30/04, 1/31/04, 2/15/04, 5/21/04

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