Case details - 2nd half of 2004

Brandyn Benjamin—black, age 19
Sentenced to death in Houston County, Alabama
By: A judge after a jury 10-2 jury recommendation of death
Date of crime: 11/18/00

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Benjamin pistol-whipped and robbed Jimmie Floyd Lewis in a rainy mall parking lot, and then shot Lewis in the heart and leg, killing him. Benjamin bragged of the murder (although he would later claim the gun accidentally discharged). In mitigation the defense argued that Benjamin had an absent father and had endured years of physical and emotional abuse; further, he had experienced the deaths of four primary caregivers.

Prosecutor(s): Doug Valeska
Defense lawyer(s): Michael Crespi, Kalia Lane

Sources: Ozark Alabama News 1/29/01; Dothan Eagle (Alabama) 5/20/03, 9/25/03, 5/28/04

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Michael Lee Brown—white, age 24
Sentenced to death in Bessemer County, Alabama
By: A judge, after a jury recommendation of death (vote unknown)
Date of crime: 10/19/01

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Brown burglarized the trailer of 66-year-old Betty Kirkpatrick to rob her.  He strangled her, slashed her throat, and put a bag over her head.  The robbery netted $91, some jewelry, and Kirkpatrick’s 1986 Thunderbird car.  Brown had done odd jobs for Kirkpatrick, and called her “grandma.”  The same week, Brown had tried to rob a family planning clinic.  He also had a conviction for attempted rape.  A tipster also reported that Brown had bragged about the murder.  Brown contended that while he had been present during the murder, someone else had killed Kirkpatrick.  As mitigation the defense presented evidence that Brown had been abused as a child, and had some positive character traits.

Prosecutor(s): Ted Mills, David Michaels
Defense lawyer(s): Bill Neumann

Sources: The Birmingham News 8/11/2004, 6/18/2004, 10/19/2001.

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Wendi Andriano—white, age 30
Sentenced to death in Maricopa County, Arizona
By: A jury
Date of crime: 10/8/2000

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Andriano killed her husband, Joe, who was dying of cancer. She poisoned her husband and was going to claim he had a heart attack so she could obtain money from a medical malpractice suit. While Joe was dying from the poison she hit her husband over 20 times in the head with a bar stool and then stabbed him. Andriano argued that she acted in self defense because she was trying to prevent him from reaching for a knife after they fought because she had been having an affair. A state psychologist explained that she was extremely manipulative and faked a suicide attempt to ensure her an easier time in jail after her arrest.

Prosecutor(s): Juan Martinez
Defense lawyer(s): David DeLozier, Dan Patterson

Sources: The Arizona Republic 11/19/04 (2004 WL 98651084), 12/23/04 (2004 WL 101483047)

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Ruben Garza—Latino, age 19
Sentenced to death in Maricopa County, Arizona
By: A jury
Date of crime: 12/1/99

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Garza and an unknown other person burglarized the home of Garza’s aunt by marriage. The aunt was shot twice in the head. A man who also occupied the home was shot multiple times during a struggle. The prosecution alleged robbery as a motive, but the jury did not find it as an aggravating circumstance. The defense argued that Garza had only confessed to being present in the home, and that there was insufficient evidence that he had inflicted any violence on the victims. In mitigation, the defense offered his youthful age (19), his lack of any criminal record, and friends and relatives to attest to his non-violent character.

Prosecutor(s): No information
Defense lawyer(s): James Cleary, Christopher Dupont

Sources: Telephone interview with defense lawyer James Cleary, 1/13/05

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Leroy Dean McGill—white, age 39 
Sentenced to death in Maricopa County, Arizona
By: A jury
Date of crime: 9/13/0

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Charles Perez and Nova Banta told the person with whom McGill was living that McGill had stolen the person’s shotgun.  That person threw McGill out, so that he became homeless.  To get revenge, McGill created a mixture of gasoline and Styrofoam (to make a gel so it would stick better and burn hotter), barged into Perez and Banta’s apartment, doused them with the mixture, and set them on fire.  Perez died, and Banta was so seriously burned she had to be placed in a medically-induced coma.  After the murder, McGill asked if an acquaintance had smelled burning flesh.  McGill had two prior armed robbery convictions.  No information was found concerning the defense strategy.

Prosecutor(s): Catherine M. Hughes
Defense lawyer(s): Maria L. Schaffer, Elizabeth Todd

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Juan Velazquez – Latino, age 23
Sentenced to death in Maricopa County, Arizona
By: A jury
Date of crime: 9/25/2001

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Velazquez beat his girlfriend’s 20 month-old daughter, Liana, to death. He was angered by her crying so he repeatedly kicked her legs out from under her until she couldn’t get back up. Then he covered her with a pillow and left her to die. He bound a rock to the child’s body and threw her in a canal. Defense attorneys brought expert witnesses to testify as to Velazquez’s borderline personality disorder and brought family in to testify how he was beaten as a child and watched his father beat his mother.

Prosecutor(s): Jeanette Gallagher
Defense lawyer(s): Robert Storrs & Joey Hamby

Sources: The Arizona Republic 10/9/2004 (2004 WL 95919700)

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Billy Thessing – white, age 33
Sentenced to death in Pulaski County, Arkansas
By: A jury
Date of crime: 2/11/2003

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Thessing went to 67-year-old Mattie Bassinger’s home to rob and beat her to death. Thessing stole Bassinger’s car and planned to return to her home to set the house on fire to make the death appear accidental. Thessing was arrested after he wrecked Bassinger’s car. A friend testified that Thessing confessed to killing an elderly woman and gave her Bassinger’s food and a television set. Thessing had a long record of felony convictions. He maintained his innocence and testified twice he was a victim of a satanic conspiracy.

Prosecutor(s): Bart Dickinson
Defense lawyer(s): Bill McLean, Bret Qualls

Sources: The Arkansas Democrat Gazette 2/20/03, 9/1/04, 9/3/04, 9/8/04, 9/11/04; Arkansas Department of Corrections: www.state.ar.us/doc

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Jamelle Armstrong—black, age 18
Sentenced to death in Los Angeles County, California
By: A jury
Date of crime: 12/29/98

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Armstrong and two cohorts (who were earlier sentenced to death for their roles in this crime) had been drinking. On the street, they kidnapped Penny Keprta, dragging her into cover alongside a freeway. They raped her, and violated her with a fencepost. They beat her to death with over a hundred wounds, and also bit her. They also robbed her. They tried to conceal her body. Armstrong claimed he had been involved only in the abduction and robbery, but was a bystander to the sexual assaults and murder. There is no rendition in available news reports about the mitigation offered, if any.

Prosecutor(s): Unknown
Defense lawyer(s): Unknown

Sources: Los Angeles Times 1/8/99; http://home.earthlink.net/~squeebertj/id18.html (a site run by an individual, but which contains a report from the Long Beach Press Telegram)

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James Lee Crummel – white, age 35
Sentenced to death in Riverside County, California
By: A jury
Date of crime: 4/1979

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Thirteen year old, Jamey Trotter, was kidnapped, sexually abused, and murdered. Crummel showed authorities to Trotter’s remains in 1990, claiming he just ran across the body while hiking. It took seven years for police to determine the remains were Trotter’s and to prove Crummel was the killer. Crummel sexually assaulted at least ten children in the past four decades, and was already sentenced to life in prison for his past molestation. The prosecution’s case presented circumstantial evidence and the testimony of a jailhouse informant. During the punishment phase, the defense argued Crummel should receive life imprisonment because he suffered from brain damages as a result from severe beatings as a child.

Prosecutor(s): Bill Mitchell
Defense lawyer(s): Mary Ann Galante

Sources: Los Angeles Times 6/8/04; The Press-Enterprise 6/14/04, Monterey County Herald 7/11/04

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Jason Donaldson—black, age 29
Sentenced to death in Los Angeles County, California
By: A jury
Date of crime: 1998

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Donaldson kidnapped Khen Tran on her way to an adult class, raped her, put her in the trunk of his car, and then set the car on fire, burning her to death. He had been out on parole only two weeks at the time. The case was solved “cold” in 2000 through a “hit” in the state’s new DNA databank. At that time, Donaldson was serving sentences of more than 200 years in prison for another attempted murder and carjacking. No information is available concerning the defense approach to the case.

Prosecutor(s): Phil Stirling
Defense lawyer(s): Unknown

Sources: Los Angeles Times 10/6/04 (2004 WL 55941763); Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office press release 10/5/04 (www.lada.tv.mr.100504b.htm)

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Scott Erskine – white, age 30
Sentenced to death in San Diego County, California
By: A jury
Date of crime: 3/27/1993

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Charlie Keever and Jonathan Sellers (ages 13 and 9) were molested, tortured and strangled to death by Erskine; Sellers’ body was discovered hanging from a tree. The case went unsolved for eleven years until new DNA analysis linked Erskine to the killings. When Erskine was charged with the boys’ murders he was already serving a 70-year sentence for rape. He had an additional long history of sex crimes. Erskine also pleaded guilty to murdering a woman in Florida in 1989. The defense did not contest the killing, but asked the jury to spare Erskine life because he suffered from a brain injury when he was hit by a car at age five. The defense argued the injury caused Erskine to lose the ability to stop sexual impulses.

Prosecutor(s): Valerie Summers
Defense lawyer(s): Larry Ainbinder, Juliana Humphrey

Sources: The San Diego Union-Tribune 8/29/04, 9/2/04, 9/5/04; Los Angeles Times 9/2/04

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Todd Givens – white, age 31
Sentenced to death in Tulare County, California
By: A jury
Date of crime: 4/1/2001

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Husband and wife Todd and Lacey Givens, murdered siblings Barry and Patreace Holstone. Todd shot Barry several times and when he ran out of bullets he stabbed Barry with a sickle. Lacey shot Patreace in the head. The Givens then disposed of the bodies in an olive orchard and set the car on fire to keep others from identifying the bodies. The prosecution argued Todd was part of Nazi Low Rider prison gang, and the gang wanted Barry killed. Todd argued he acted alone and killed the Holstones in self-defense. Todd represented himself during the trial.

Prosecutor(s): Ed Gil
Defense lawyer(s):

Sources: The Fresno Bee 3/5/04, 7/7/04, 7/8/04

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Virendra “Victor” Govin – Asian, age 35
Sentenced to death in Los Angeles County, California
By: A jury
Date of crime: 5/4/2002

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Govin and his brother owned a motel that bordered the victims’ motel. Both motel owners wanted to expand their businesses and use the common alley for different purposes. Govin killed four members of the Patel family by strangling them and then setting their home on fire. The prosecution case was based on the testimony of Govin’s co-defendant, Carlos Amador. Amador testified he and the Govin brothers robbed the home, and saw Govin strangle the victims. The jury gave Govin the death penalty because he committed multiple murders and killed for financial gain. The defense argued that Amador lied and in actuality he was the mastermind behind the killings. The defense also disputed that Govin had a business argument with the Patels.

Prosecutor(s): Eleanor Hunter
Defense lawyer(s): Richard Steingard

Sources: Los Angeles Times 5/19/04 (2004 WL 55913765), 6/5/04 (2004 WL 55917325)

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Larry Hazlett – black, age 30
Sentenced to death in Kern County, California
By: A jury
Date of crime: 10/24/1978

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Hazlett raped and murdered former beauty queen, Tana Woolley. Hazlett lived in Woolley’s apartment building and was the prime suspect initially, but police lacked evidence to arrest him. The case went unsolved for 24 years until DNA evidence pointed to Hazlett. In aggravation, prosecution presented evidence of four other rapes Hazlett committed. The defense attacked the DNA evidence, arguing the semen was not initially found on the bedspread.

Prosecutor(s): Ed Jagels
Defense lawyer(s): James Coker

Sources: Los Angeles Daily News 6/19/04, 6/25/04, 7/15/05

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Julian Mendez – Latino, age 22
Sentenced to death in Riverside County, California
By: A jury
Date of crime: 2/4/2000

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Mendez, a gang member, beat Michael Faria (age 15) and then shot him twice, including once in the head. Mendez then ordered another gang member to shoot Jessica Salazar (age 14) because she was able to identify Mendez as the shooter. The other gang member refused to shoot Salazar so Mendez ultimately shot her. In mitigation, the defense argued Mendez had spent most of his life in a gang, and his father spent half of his life in prison because of drug usage.

Prosecutor(s): John Ruiz
Defense lawyer(s): Michael Belter

Sources: The Press-Enterprise 9/1/04 (2004 WL 91973785), 9/9/04 (2004 WL 91974378), 9/22/04 (2004 WL 91975564), 9/23/04 (2004 WL 91975873), 9/25/04 (2004 WL 91975958)

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Richard England – Latino, age 29
Sentenced to death in Volusia County, Florida
By: A judge after an 8-4 jury recommendation of death
Date of crime: 6/26/2001

Prosecution’s case/defense response: England and Michael Douglas Jackson robbed and beat 71-year-old Howard Wetherell to death with a fire poker. After the murder, England took a shower with Wetherell’s body and defaced a painting with the word “pervert…” The prosecution argued England killed Wetherell because of his hatred towards homosexuals. England continuously claimed his innocence, and at one point the judge had to duct tape his mouth shut for his outbursts. In mitigation, England’s sister testified Richard was severely beaten as a child. England was first imprisoned at age 16 for killing another homosexual man and was on probation when Wetherell’s murder occurred.

Prosecutor(s): Ed Davis
Defense lawyer(s): Rob Sanders, Gerald Keating

Sources: Daytona Beach News Journal 7/10/04, 7/17/04, 7/24/04; The Miami Herald 5/29/04; Florida Department of Corrections: www.dc.state.fl.us/

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Johnny Hoskins—black, age 28 (re-sentencing after appellate reversal)
Sentenced to death in Brevard County, Florida
By: A judge after an 11-1 jury recommendation of death
Date of crime: 10/92

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Hoskins raped and strangled his 80-year-old neighbor Dorothy Berger, then transported her body to Georgia and buried it in a shallow grave.  Hoskins’s death sentence was twice reversed by the Florida Supreme Court because the jury was not provided with pertinent evidence about his mental condition.  This death sentence was his third, and the first time even one juror voted to recommend a life sentence.

Sources: Hoskins v. State, 702 So.2d 202 (Fla. 1997); Florida Today 7/29/04 (2004 WL 60375238).

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Richard Johnson – white, age 23
Sentenced to death in St. Lucie County, Florida
By: A judge after an 11-1 jury recommendation of death
Date of crime: 2/14/2001

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Johnson raped, strangled and killed 35-year-old Tammy Hagin after he met her at a night club. John Vitale, Johnson’s roommate, testified he helped Johnson get rid of the body after the killing. Johnson and Vitale bought a cooler, chains and cinder blocks to attach to the body so it would sink to the bottom at Savannas State Park. After Johnson was arrested, Vitale wrote letters to Johnson’s friends, family and prosecutors confessing he committed the crime. Vitale testified he wrote the letters because he loved Johnson even though he did not murder Hagin. The defense argued in mitigation that Johnson was physically and sexually abused.

Prosecutor(s): Lynn Park, Rick Seymour
Defense lawyer(s): Robert Stone

Sources: South Florida Sun-Sentinel 6/12/046/22/04; Florida Department of Corrections: www.dc.state.fl.us

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Christopher Dale Jones—black, age 22
Sentenced to death in Okeechobee County, Florida
By: A judge after a 7-5 jury recommendation of death
Date of crime: 7/17/01

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Jones and three cohorts burglarized Hilario Dominguez’s home to rob him. Jones beat the victim severely with a pistol, and then shot him in the heart as be begged for his life. Jones’ apparent motivation for the murder was to eliminate the victim as a witness. Jones had two prior grand theft convictions. Jones declined a life sentence plea bargain. The defense attempted to shift the primary blame to the other cohorts. In mitigation, the defense offered primarily Jones’s grandfather. At the penalty phase Jones told the jury he didn’t care whether he lived or died.

Prosecutor(s): Bernard Romero, Ashley Albright
Defense lawyer(s): Sherwood Bauer, James Harpring

Sources: www.dc.state.fl.us ; Miami Herald 7/22/01; Tampa Tribune 7/23/03; telephone calls with prosecutors Romero and Albright 1/14/05

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Troy Merck Jr. – white, age 19
Sentenced to death in Pinellas County, Florida (re-sentence after an appellate reversal of the death sentence)
By: A judge after a 9-3 jury recommendation of death
Date of crime: 10/11/91

Prosecution’s case/defense response: James Newton went to a night club to celebrate his birthday, and when he left the party he found Merck leaning on his car and requested he move. Merck proceeded to pick a fight with Newton and started attacking him with a hunting knife. Merck stabbed Newton 13 times while he yelled “Happy birthday.” The victim could have lived up to five minutes before he bled to death. Merck was on probation at the time of the killing and has been convicted of five robberies. Merck has also been violent in prison and threatened to escape. Merck has been convicted twice before of this crime but his sentences were overturned on appeal. During previous sentencing, Merck gave the thumbs-up sign and broke into song. In mitigation, the defense argued Merck is an alcoholic and had a rough childhood.

Prosecutor(s): Richard Ripplinger, Brian Daniels
Defense lawyer(s): Michael Schwartzberg

Sources: St. Petersburg Times 3/20/04, 8/7/04; Tampa Tribune 8/7/04; Florida Department of Corrections: www.dc.state.fl.us

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William Kenneth Taylor – white, age 42
Sentenced to death in Hillsborough County, Florida
By: A jury unanimously recommended a death sentence
Date of crime: 5/2001

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Taylor shot Sandra Kushmer and almost beat her brother, Billy Maddox, to death. Taylor took Kushmer and Maddox to their mother’s home after meeting them at a bar. After the attack, Taylor stole Maddox’s credit cards, checks, and assumed the brother’s stockbroker identity. The prosecution argued Taylor should receive the death penalty because he murdered for money and had a violent history, spending 23 of the past 26 years in prison. At the time of the murder Taylor was on federal probation. During the punishment phase, the defense argued Taylor should not receive the death penalty because he suffered from mental disorders and had a rough childhood.

Prosecutor(s): Scott Harmon
Defense lawyer(s): Deborah Goins

Sources: Tampa Tribune 6/15/04, 9/30/04

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Robert Walker—white, age 31
Sentenced to death in Brevard County, Florida
By: A judge after a jury recommendation of death
Date of crime 1/27/03

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Walker kidnapped, beat, bound, stripped, and shot David Hamman in a drug dispute, and then dumped his body. No information is available concerning the defense approach to the case.

Prosecutor(s): Jim Earp, Glenn Craig

Defense lawyer(s): Kenneth Studstill

Sources: Florida Today (Brevard County) 2/24/03 (2003 WL 7157577), 3/6/03 (2003 WL 7142104), 6/10/03 (2003 WL 7146185), 8/5/04 (2004 WL 60375998), 12/16/04 (2004 WL 60382037)

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Douglas Belt – white, age 40
Sentenced to death in Sedgwick County, Kansas
By: A jury
Date of crime: 6/24/02

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Belt was convicted of beheading Lucille Gallegos at an apartment complex where she worked as a housekeeper. After the murder, Belt set the apartment on fire to destroy the evidence of the murder. The prosecution presented DNA evidence linking Belt to the murder. The defense argued it was Gallegos’s abusive boyfriend who killed her. Belt maintained his innocence throughout the trial. DNA evidence also tied Belt to a six different rapes.

Prosecutor(s): Ron Evans
Defense lawyer(s): Marc Bennett, Barry Disney

Sources: Wichita Eagle 10/21/04 (2004 WL 96338668), 10/22/04 (2004 WL 96338777), 11/2/04 (2004 WL 96340128), 11/3/04(2004 WL 96341035), 11/4/04 (2004 WL 96340614), 11/18/04 (2004 WL 96342306)

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Marco Chapman – white, age unknown
Sentenced to death in Boone County, Kentucky
By: A judge
Date of crime: 8/23/2002

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Chapman, a family friend, went to the Marksberry home to rob them. Chapman then tied Carolyn Marksberry up, raped, and stabbed her repeatedly. Carolyn survived by playing dead. Chapman then proceeded to kill her two children, Cody Sharon, 6, and Chelbi, 7; Courtney also survived by playing dead. Initially, Chapman explained to the judge he wanted to fire his attorneys, plead guilty and be executed. The judge refused to accept the plea because he determined Chapman was not competent to represent himself.

Prosecutor(s): Linda Tally Smith
Defense lawyer(s): John Delaney

Sources: The Cincinnati Post 10/22/04 (2004 WL 90036634), 10/23/04 (2004 WL 95910776), 12/15/04 (2004 WL 90040214)

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LaDerick Campbell—black, age 19
Sentenced to death in Caddo Parish, Louisiana
By: A jury
Date of crime: 2/11/2002

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Kathy Parker was working behind the counter of a liquor store. Campbell and his cohort James Edward Washington approached the counter and committed robbery by demanding money. Parker told them she would give them everything and not to hurt her. But Campbell stuck his shotgun across the counter and shot her in the chest, killing her. Campbell argued that the eyewitnesses had mistakenly identified him. He rejected a plea deal offered by the prosecution that would have allowed him to avoid the death penalty.

Prosecutor(s): Edward M. Brossette
Defense lawyer(s): Alan Golden, Kurt Goins, although Campbell fired them before the guilt/innocence phase and represented himself.

Sources: Shreveport Times 9/23/04 (2004 WL 80299917), Baton Rouge Advocate 9/26/04 (2004 WL 58415823)

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Darrell Draughn—black, age 28
Sentenced to death in Caddo Parish, Louisiana
By: A jury
Date of crime: April 2000

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Draughn burglarized the home of his 64-year-old neighbor Lauretta White to rob her. In the process, he stabbed her about 60 times, killing her. At the penalty phase the prosecution presented evidence that Draughn had killed a teenager in an execution-style killing, and had committed another serious assault. No information is available on the defense approach to the case. Draughn was convicted in mid-2003, but final imposition of sentence was delayed until late in 2004 because of post-trial motions.

Prosecutor(s): Mike Pitman
Defense lawyer(s): Joe Clark, Gary Book

Sources: Shreveport Times 6/27/03 (2003 WL 19283137), 6/29/03 (2003 WL 19283496), 6/29/03 (2003 WL 4877984), 7/1/03 (2003 WL 19283607)


Derrick Lee – black, age 34
Sentenced to death in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana
By: A jury
Date of crime: May 31, 2002

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Lee savagely killed 22 year-old Charlotte Murray Pace by raping and then stabbing her over 81 times with a knife and a 12-inch flat-blade screwdriver. By the time it was over, her skull was fractured, her face disfigured and her hands bruised, suggesting that she fought her attacker. Authorities say they have linked Lee through DNA evidence to the deaths of seven women from 1998-2003. Defense attorneys argued that Lee should be spared the death penalty because he is retarded, putting on evidence from a neuropsychologist. The prosecution rejects these claims, saying its psychologist and psychiatrist examined Lee and found him not to be retarded.

Prosecutor(s): John Sinquefield & Dana Cummings & Doug Moreau
Defense lawyer(s): Bruce Unangst & Mike Mitchell & Nelvil Hollingsworth

Sources: Houston Chronicle 10/14/2004 (2004 WL 83672635);
Times Picayune 9/12/2004 (2004 WL 83877343); 10/15/2004 (2004 WL 83884311); 10/16/2004 (2004 WL 83884416);
Charleston Gazette 9/14/2004 (2004 WL 59660424);
The Baton Rouge Advocate 9/21/2004 (2004 WL 58415216); 9/22/2004 (2004 WL 58415373);
The Sun Herald 9/22/2004 (2004 WL 92785870); 9/24/2004 (2004 WL 92786089)

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Jason Reeves – white, age unknown
Sentenced to death in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana
By: A jury
Date of crime: 11/12/2001

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Reeves kidnapped, raped and stabbed 4-year old Mary Jean Thigpen 16 times and left her in the woods. Reeves confessed to molesting the girl but did not remember killing her. In mitigation, Reeves was essentially raised by his sister until he was ten and saw an 18-wheeler crush and kill her. As a child, Reeves also was raped by a neighbor and never received any counseling. In aggravation, Reeves has a child molestation case pending. Reeves was tried previously, but the trial ended in a mistrial after a juror would not vote to convict Reeves of murder.

Prosecutor(s): Rick Bryant, Cynthia Killingsworth, Wayne Frey
Defense lawyer(s): Ron Ware, Charles St. Dizier, Richard White

Sources: Baton Rouge Advocate 10/13/04 (2004 WL 58417570), 11/8/04 (2004 WL 58420418), 11/9/04 (2004 WL 58420482); Associated Press Newswires 11/6/04 11/9/04

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Jamaal K. Abeokuto – black, age 22
Sentenced to death in Baltimore County, Maryland
By: A judge
Date of crime: December 9, 2002

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Abeokuto was found guilty of murdering 8 year-old Marciana Ringo, the daughter of his girlfriend. Ringo’s frozen, partially snow-covered body was found in the woods 9 days after she disappeared. Abeokuto claims that voices told him to murder the child, believing it would bring Ringo’s mother and him closer together if he killed her daughter.

Prosecutor(s): Joseph I. Cassily
Defense lawyer(s): Warren Brown

Sources: The Baltimore Sun 11/16/2004 (2004 WL 96475686)

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Jason Taylor—white, age 23
Sentenced to death in Harrison County, Mississippi
By: A jury
Date of crime: 10/12/02

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Taylor robbed a General Nutrition Center where he had formerly worked, and beat 18-year-old clerk Chelle Cazeaux to death with some barbells, in addition to shooting her in the back. He had a prior conviction at age 16 for kidnapping a woman and her 6-year-old daughter, and robbing the woman. Taylor was in violation of the terms of his probation at the time her murdered Cazeaux. No information is available concerning the defense approach to the case.

Prosecutor(s): Lisa Dotson, Chris Fisher
Defense lawyer(s): Glenn Rishel, Donald Rafferty

Sources: Sun Herald (Biloxi) 10/15/02 (2002 WL 101464307), 10/19/02 (2002 WL 101464548), 11/4/04 (2004 WL 92789535), 11/5/04 (2004 WL 98821156), Baton Rouge Advocate (2002 WL 5047615)

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Earl Forrest II—white, age unknown
Sentenced to death in Dent County, Missouri
By: unknown
Date of crime: 12/9/02

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Forrest killed Harriet Smith and Michael Wells in an apparent drug dispute. Sheriff Bob Wofford and Deputy JoAnn Barnes went to a home to question Forrest. When the door was opened, he began shooting at them, killing Barnes and wounding Wofford. Forrest surrendered after a brief stand-off. No information is available concerning the defense approach to the case.

Prosecutor(s): unknown
Defense lawyers(s) unknown

Sources: News-Leader (Springfield, MO) 12/11/02 (2002 WL 103682878), 12/19/02 (103683134)

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David Zink—white, age 42
Sentenced to death by a Lafayette County jury sitting (apparently due to sequestration) in St. Clair County, Missouri
By: A jury
Date of crime: July 12, 2001

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Zink kidnapped 19-year-old Amanda Morton, sodomized her, tied her to a tree, and inflicted numerous injuries on her: numerous blunt-force traumas, strangling, choking, stabbing, putting mud in her mouth, and breaking her neck (which was the fatal injury). Zink confessed and led investigators to where he had buried Morton’s body in the woods. Zink had convictions for raping and kidnapping two women in 1980, for which he had been released on parole only five months before killing Morton. Zink’s attorney’s contended he was mentally ill and unable to formulate the intent for first-degree murder, while Zink pursued a different strategy that he had been enraged and thus should be convicted only of manslaughter. In the penalty phase the defense offered evidence of Zink’s troubled childhood, his narcissistic personality disorder, and his alcohol dependence.

Prosecutor(s): Robert Ahsens
Defense lawyer(s): Thomas Jacquinot, Curtis Winegarner, although Zink acted as his own primary defense lawyer

Sources: News-Leader (Springfield, MO) 7/30/04, 9/8/04

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Arthur Lee Gales—black, age 35
Sentenced to death in Douglas County, Nebraska (re-sentence because a judge imposed the original sentence in violation of the Ring v. Arizona principle)
By: A three-judge panel after a jury had found aggravating circumstances
Date of crime: November 2000

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Gales strangled and sexually assaulted 13-year-old Latara Chandler and her 7-year-old brother Tramar, and beat their mother Judy almost to death. Gales maintained his innocence. He had previously been convicted of armed sexual battery in 1986. At the penalty phase the defense presented evidence of Gales’ good behavior in prison.

Prosecutor(s): Don Kleine
Defense lawyer(s): Susan Bazis

Sources: Omaha World-Herald 10/23/03 (2003 WL 5284524), 10/23/03 (2003 WL 5284557), 10/31/03 (2003 WL 5285230), 12/4/03 (2003 WL 5288103), 12/9/03 (2003 WL 5288475), 12/10/03 (2003 WL 5288601)

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Jorge Galindo – Latino, age 21
Sentenced to death in Madison County, Nebraska
By: A three-judge panel after a jury had found aggravating circumstances
Date of crime: 9/26/2002

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Galindo and three other men robbed a bank and killed four employees and one customer. Galindo shot Lola Elwood, a bank employee, after he asked her if she had pulled the alarm. The ringleader, Jose Sandoval, shot the other three employees and one customer. The men killed five people in less than a minute and left the bank without any money. In mitigation, the defense argued Galindo did not know what he was doing because he was on methamphetamine, and was dominated by Sandoval. The defense also claimed Galindo’s life should be spared because he cooperated with police.

Prosecutor(s): Joe Smith
Defense lawyer(s): Doug Stratton

Sources: Omaha World Herald 6/9/04 (2004 WL 60555871), 10/14/04 (2004 WL 60572862), 10/16/04 (2004 WL 60573227), 11/10/04(2004 WL 60577144)

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Paul Dewayne Cummings—Native American, age 22
Sentenced to death in New Hanover County, North Carolina
By: A jury
Date of crime: 10/4/02

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Cummings robbed his neighbor Jane Head in her home and killed her by inflicting sixteen stab wounds with one of her kitchen knives. He then took her ATM card and her van and drained her bank account to buy drugs. The defense presented evidence of Cummings’s extreme domestic abuse by his father resulting in post-traumatic stress disorder, which had driven him to drug and alcohol dependence, which in turn had clouded his judgment in killing Head and rendered him incapable of premeditation. While awaiting trial on this capital charge, Cummings was convicted of armed robbery of a cabdriver that occurred two months before he committed this murder.

Prosecutor(s): Ben David, Dru Lewis
Defense lawyer(s): Rick Miller, Kevin Peters

Sources: Star-News (NC) 9/1/04, 9/3/04, 9/9/04, 9/15/04

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Donald Craig—black, age 36
Sentenced to death in Summit County, Ohio
By: A jury
Date of crime: 3/96

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Craig kidnapped, multiply raped, and strangled 12-year-old Roseanna Davenport. Craig was a suspect from the time of the crime in 1996, but DNA tests at the time were inconclusive. More advanced tests found fluid traces from him on the victim and her clothing. Craig maintained his innocence and claimed that the DNA samples had been intentionally or accidentally switched. (Note: this is an unusual case where the defendant seems not to have had evidence of an abusive childhood or mental defects.)

Prosecutor(s): Becky Doherty, Carolyn Milligan
Defense lawyer(s): Kerry O’Brien, Brian Pierce

Sources: Akron Beacon-Journal 7/17/04; Cleveland Plain Dealer 7/22/04

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Fred Mundt Jr. – white, age 30
Sentenced to death in Noble County, Ohio
By: A jury
Date of crime: 3/9/2004

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Mundt killed his 7-year-old step-daughter, Brittany Hendrickson, by dumping her in a well then dropping large stones on her until she stopped screaming. Mundt confessed to the murder to psychologists. Brittany was also a victim of on-going sexual abuse. In the penalty phase, the defense argued Mundt was raised in a dysfunctional home, and suffered from bipolar disorder and post traumatic stress syndrome. The prosecution argued that Mundt continually exaggerated his mental illness to deflect responsibility.

Prosecutor(s): Cliff Sickler
Defense lawyer(s): Andrew Warhola

Sources: The Columbus Dispatch 12/11/04 (2004 WL 102491120)

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Brenda Andrew—white, age 37
Sentenced to death in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma
By: A jury
Date of crime: 11/20/01

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Andrew and her lover James Pavatt (who was sentenced to death in 2003 for this crime) conspired to kill Andrew’s husband Rob for an $800,000 insurance policy. Pavatt shot Rob in the side with a shotgun in the Andrews’ garage, and then Brenda took the gun and shot Rob in the neck as he lay on the floor. Brenda suffered a superficial wound, and told the police she and Rob had been attacked by two masked men. Pavatt and Brenda and her children went to Mexico the day before Rob’s funeral, and were arrested three months later as they tried to re-enter the United States. The defense argued that the murder was committed by Pavatt and that Brenda had nothing to do with it.

Prosecutor(s): Gayland Geiger, Fern Smith
Defense lawyer(s): Greg McCracken, George Miskovsky III

Sources: Bucks County Courier Times (PA) 7/15/04 (www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/1-07152004-331926.html); Daily Oklahoman 9/19/04 (2004 WL 94230486), 9/23/04 (2004 WL 94231038); Tulsa World 9/23/04 (2004 WL 94040757)

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Benjamin Cole—white, age 38
Sentenced to death in Rogers County, Oklahoma
By: A jury
Date of crime: 12/20/02

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Cole was playing video games. He was interrupted by the crying of his 9-month-old daughter Brianna. He went to her crib and bent her legs backward and then flipped her over. This broke her spine and ruptured her aorta. He went back to playing video games, but eventually checked on Brianna, found her unresponsive, and called for emergency assistance. Cole had a conviction for abusing his infant son in California in 1987. In mitigation, the defense offered evidence of Cole’s terrible childhood, mental problems (including intermittent explosive disorder, paranoia, and narcissism) and drug dependence.

Prosecutor(s): Patrick Abitol
Defense lawyer(s): James Bowen, Lynn Burch

Sources: Tulsa World 10/19/04 (2004 WL 94044414), 10/20/04 (2004 WL 94044540), 10/21/04 (2004 WL 94044677), 10/22/04 (2004 WL 94044874), 12/9/04 (2004 WL 94053830)

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Richard Eugene Glossip – white, age 34
Sentenced to death in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma (re-sentence after an appellate reversal of the death sentence)
By: A jury
Date of crime: 1/7/1997

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Glossip solicited motel maintenance worker Justin Sneed to kill motel owner, Barry Alan Van Treese. The motive was either to rob Van Treese, or because Glossip believed Van Treese was going to fire him Sneed beat Van Treese with to death with a baseball bat. Sneed pled guilty and agreed to testify against Glossip to receive a life sentence. Glossip maintained throughout the proceedings that he had nothing to do with the murder, although he admitted to helping Sneed after the fact. (Note: Glossip’s sentence was overturned because of grossly ineffective assistance of counsel, particularly in failing to impeach Sneed’s testimony in some very obvious ways. While not making a ruling on the sufficiency of evidence for the conviction, the appellate court noted that evidence to corroborate Sneed’s testimony was “extremely weak.”)

Prosecutor(s):
Defense lawyer(s):

Sources: The Daily Oklahoman 6/4/04; Tulsa World 9/24/00; State v. Glossip, 29 P.3d 597 (Okla. Crim. App. 2001)

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Phillip Hancock—white, age 37
Sentenced to death in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma
By: A jury
Date of crime: 4/27/01

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Hancock shot and killed Robert Jett and James Lynch. The prosecution argued that he had shot one of the victims while the man was fleeing, and taunted the other victim between gunshots. Hancock argued that he had acted in self-defense. Hancock had other convictions.

Prosecutor(s): Cassandra Williams
Defense lawyer(s): Merle Gile

Sources: Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City) 6/28/02 (2002 WL 23136908), 9/30/04 (2004 WL 94231913)

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Michael Edward Hooper—white, age 20
Sentenced to death in Canadian County, Oklahoma (re-sentence after an appellate reversal of the death sentence)
By: A judge after waiving a jury. Hooper had been sentenced to death by a jury in 1995, but his sentence had been reversed, which led to this second sentencing proceeding.
Date of crime: 12/7/93

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Hooper kidnapped his ex-girlfriend Cynthia Jarman and her two children (Tonya, age 5, and Timothy, age 3), shot each of them twice in the head, and buried them atop each other in a field. At the resentencing Hooper did not wish to present evidence that might spare him from death, but his attorney nonetheless pointed out that Hooper suffered from serious mental health issues and was a victim of childhood abuse and neglect.

Prosecutor(s): Cathy Stocker
Defense lawyer(s): Mark Henrickson

Sources: Daily Oklahoman 10/1/04 (2004 WL 94232053); Hooper v. State, 947 P.2d 1090 (Okla. Crim. App. 1997)

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Elwood Jackson Jr. – white, age 43
Sentenced to death in Comanche County, Oklahoma
By: A jury
Date of crime: 2/10/2003

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Jackson shot Lena Jean Bohay (22) John Andrew Limberger (25) in the head and beat Mark Donald Wright (57) to death with a fire poker. Jackson murdered the three co-workers in an effort to cover up his stealing from them to pay for his drug habit. Jackson owed the rental home the employees lived at.

Prosecutor(s): Robert Schulte
Defense lawyer(s):

Sources: The Daily Oklahoman 10/23/04 (2004 WL 94234903); Tulsa World 10/27/04 (2004 WL 94045556)

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Allen “Gary” Zweigart—white, age 52
Sentenced to death in Columbia County, Oregon
By: A jury
Date of crime: 1/10/02

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Zweigart hired the 18-year-old nephew of his lover to stage a fake burglary at Zweigart’s home, and to kill Zweigart’s wife Hong Ha Zweigart in the process for insurance money. The would-be hit-man committed the burglary, and bound the Zweigarts. But the 18-year-old could not go through with the murder, so Gary Zweigart freed himself and shot Hong Ha in the head, killing her.

Prosecutor(s): unknown
Defense lawyer(s): unknown

Sources: Portland Oregonian 1/11/02 (2002 WL 3942234), 2/21/02 (2002 WL 3947897), 4/19/02 (2002 WL 3955980), 4/19/02 (2002 WL 3955997), 10/10/04 (2004 WL 58884434), 11/4/04 (2004 WL 58887570)

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Richard Boxley—black, age 29
Sentenced to death in Berks County, Pennsylvania (re-sentence after an appellate reversal)
By: A jury
Date of crime: 6/11/00

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Boxley and cohorts Tito Black and Wilson Menendez ambushed Jason Bolton on a city street in Reading, killing him with a gunshot wound to the chest. Boxley boasted of the killing afterward. Boxley defended on the basis that Black and Menendez had killed Bolton. The death sentence was reversed on appeal for failure to permit sufficient individual voir dire of prospective jurors. Boxley was re-sentenced to death.

(At the original sentencing, the judge said: “I wish I had the authority of a sentencing judge in [Old West] times. I would have the circle rebuilt at Fifth and Penn streets, not just to have a place for Christmas tree, but as an excellent place to construct a gallows for your speedy and public hanging. Perhaps then the gun-toting, drug-dealing scum that has moved in to take your place will get the point.”)

Prosecutor(s): unknown
Defense lawyer(s): unknown

Sources: Commonwealth v. Boxley, 838 A.2d 608 (Pa. 2003); Patriot-News (Harrisburg) 10/29/00 (2000 WL 9366916)

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Christopher Kennedy—black, age 21
Sentenced to death in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
By: A jury
Date of crime: 1/19/03

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Kennedy and three cohorts (who were sentenced to life in prison for this crime) robbed a pharmacy. Kennedy shot the manager, Michael Richardson, in the leg to “soften him up,” then dragged him to the store safe. Richardson opened the safe while pleading for his life. Kennedy then shot him once in the head. Kennedy testified at trial and admitted shooting Richardson in the leg, but denied shooting him in the head and said he did not know who did. At the penalty phase the defense presented evidence that Kennedy was beaten as a child, and lived in foster homes after age 8.

Prosecutor(s): Michael Fisher, Tom Malone
Defense lawyer(s): Gary Server

Sources: Philadelphia Inquirer 8/3/04; Philadelphia Daily News 8/3/04

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Ernest Wholaver—white, age 42
Sentenced to death in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
By: A jury
Date of crime: 12/24/02

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Wholaver was estranged from his wife Jean, and she had a protective order against him. His two daughters (Victoria, age 20, and Elizabeth, age 15) had accused him of sexually abusing them for many years, and were within weeks of the trial where they would testify against him. Wholaver had his brother drive him to his wife’s house (his brother pleaded guilty to three counts of third-degree murder for his role in the crime, and testified against Ernest). Ernest burglarized the home, shooting and killing Jean, Victoria, and Elizabeth. He killed Victoria while she was holding her infant daughter. The police found the infant alive by her mother’s body the next day. Wholaver was also convicted of attempting to hire a hit man from jail to kill Victoria’s ex-boyfriend and frame him for the crime by leaving a suicide note confessing to the crime. In defense, Wholaver denied committing the murders. The defense attempted to point the finger at Victoria’s ex-boyfriend, and claimed that Wholaver had attempted to have him killed because Wholaver believed the ex-boyfriend had killed the three victims.

Prosecutor(s): Francis T. Chardo
Defense lawyer(s): Spero T. Lappas

Sources: Bucks County Courier Times (PA) 8/22/04; Centre Daily Times (State College, PA) 9/1/04, Patriot-News (Harrisburg, PA) 8/31/04, 9/1/04

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James Bryant III—black, age unknown
Sentenced to death in Horry County, South Carolina (re-sentenced after an appellate reversal of the death sentence)
By: A jury
Date of crime: 6/5/00

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Horry County police officer Dennis Lyden pulled Bryant’s car over in a routine traffic stop. After Bryant got out of the car, he took Lyden’s flashlight and beat Lyden with it severely. Bryant took Lyden’s gun and shot Lyden in the head after Lyden had fallen to the ground. The defense did not contest guilt. In mitigation, the defense presented witnesses to testify that Bryant had been a model prisoner who posed minimal danger while incarcerated.

Prosecutor(s): Walter Bailey

Defense lawyer(s): Paul Archer, Robert Johnston

Sources: Myrtle Beach Sun News 10/5/04, 10/6/04, 10/9/04, 10/11/04

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Kamel Evans—black, age 26
Sentenced to death in Greenville County, South Carolina
By: A jury
Date of crime: 4/1/03

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Evans was upset over his break-up with Joe Sapinoso’s sister. He burglarized the Sapinoso home and held Joe and his father Antonio hostage for four hours in a stand-off with sheriff’s deputies. Joe himself was a deputy. During this time Antonio’s wife hid in an upstairs closet with her 6-year-old grandson. Finally, Evans shot Joe in the head four times as he lay on the floor, and shot Antonio three times as he tried to flee. The defense admitted guilt, and sought to prove that Evans had lived a good life until the fateful night.

Prosecutor(s): Bob Ariail
Defense lawyer(s): Steve Sumner, Skip Goldsmith

Sources: Myrtle Beach Sun-News 9/22/04; Greenville News 9/22/04

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Franklin Fitch—black, age 41
Sentenced to death in Shelby County, Tennessee
By: A jury
Date of crime: 2/28/02

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Fitch’s live-in girlfriend Angela Carroll had ended their relationship and obtained a restraining order against him. He went to her nursing home workplace and opened fire at her with a .40 caliber inside the facility, loosing as many as 10 shots in a crowded area. Carroll died of 5 bullet wounds. Fitch had earlier committed another violent crime by beating an earlier girlfriend in 1991 with a board. Fitch had agreed to a life-without-parole plea, but withdrew it on the eve of trial. The defense argued that Fitch had not been thinking clearly due to anger or intoxication.

Prosecutor(s): Lee Coffee
Defense lawyer(s): Larry Nance

Sources: Commercial Appeal (Memphis) 9/23/04, 9/25/04, 9/26/04

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James Riels—white, age 29
Sentenced to death in Shelby County, Tennessee
By: A jury
Date of crime: 4/21/03

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Riels beat acquaintances Mary Jane Cruchon and Fanchion Pollock (age 89) to death with a hammer inside Pollock’s home when he got angry after they would not give him money for drugs. He also killed Cruchon’s toy poodle for barking. Riels pleaded guilty and only the penalty phase was tried to a jury. The defense presented evidence that he was high on crack cocaine and vodka at the time of the murders.

Prosecutor(s): Jerry Harris
Defense lawyer(s):

Sources: Commercial Appeal (Memphis) 8/14/04

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*Robert Acuna—Latino, age 17
Sentenced to death in Harris County, Texas
By: A jury
Date of crime: 11/12/03

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Acuna committed a home invasion burglary and robbery of his across-the-street neighbors James Carroll (age 75) and Joyce Carroll (age 74), and shot each of them in the head at close range. He was arrested five days later at a motel in possession of their car, some jewelry, and the murder weapon. Several months earlier he had been charged with aggravated assault for pulling a knife on an elderly man in a mall parking lot. The defense argued his youth as the primary mitigating factor. This is an unusual defendant who appeared to be unable to point to a terrible childhood as a mitigating factor.

Prosecutor(s): Renee Magee
Defense lawyer(s): Robert Loper

Sources: Houston Chronicle 8/12/04

*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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Buenka Adams—black, age 19
Sentenced to death in Cherokee County, Texas
By: A jury
Date of crime: 9/2/02

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Adams and co-defendant Richard Cobb (also sentenced to death in 2004) 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. 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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Tracy Beatty—white, age 42
Sentenced to death in Smith County, Texas
By: A jury
Date of crime: 11/25/03

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Beatty had a long history of drug involvement and a long prison record—and while incarcerated had a long history of threatening and assaulting correctional officers. He also had a conviction for torturing his 18-month-old niece. He was paroled and went to live with his mother. She kicked him out of the house. He then burglarized her home, beat her, killed her by strangulation or suffocation, and buried her nude body in the backyard. He used her car and her credit and bank cards, and took some of her belongings. He eventually confessed and led the police to the body. While in jail awaiting trial on the capital charge he was found to have made a knife (“shank”). The defense did not contest the murder, but contended it was committed during a violent argument, and in connection with a felony because she had not kicked him out (no burglary) and he had only decided to use her property after her death (no robbery).

Prosecutor(s): Matt Bingham, Brett Harrison, April Sikes
Defense lawyer(s): Robert Perkins, Ken Hawk

Sources: Tyler Morning Telegraph 8/11/04; Telephone call with prosecutor Harrison 10/29/04

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Anthony Francois—black, age 33
Sentenced to death in Harris County, Texas
By: A jury
Date of crime: 9/11/03

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Francois snuck into the home of his ex-girlfriend Shemika Patterson (age 16). He proceeded to shoot and kill her three sisters who were sleeping: Nikesha (15), Ashley (11), and Brittany (10). Francois also shot Shemika and her mother Sheila in their heads and backs, but they survived. Quinn had a long criminal record, including for burglary and armed robbery. He had also told another woman a week before the murders that he was going to kill Shemika’s family while she watched. Francois told the police, however, that he panicked and snapped. In the penalty phase the prosecution presented evidence of rape by Francois for which no charges had been filed. The defense presented evidence that Francois had been fathered by a rapist, and had suffered a traumatic childhood.

Prosecutor(s): Vanessa Velasquez, Terese Buess
Defense lawyer(s):Loretta Muldrow, Mack Arnold

Sources: Houston Chronicle 7/20/04, 7/21/04, 7/22/04, 7/23/04, 7/24/04, 7/27/04, 7/29/04

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Barney Ronald Fuller, Jr.—white, age 44
Sentenced to death in Houston County, Texas
By: A jury
Date of crime: 5/14/03

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Fuller had a history of trouble with his neighbors the Copelands, who had reported him to the police for shooting guns in the neighborhood. He burglarized their home while carrying a rifle and a handgun. He shot and killed Annette and Nathan Copeland, each with multiple shots, and wounded their 14-year-old son Cody. Fuller pleaded guilty and only the penalty phase was tried to a jury. The defense argued that because of his relatively old age, he was less likely to be a future danger than a younger person. The defense also presented evidence of alcohol and drug abuse, and that he was a good husband and father.

Prosecutor(s): Cindy Garner, Daphne Session, Lisa Tanner
Defense lawyer(s): William House, Wayne Slaughter

Sources: Fort Worth Star-Telegram 7/22/04 (2004 WL 84673285); Austin American-Statesman 7/22/04 (2004 WL 57662876); Houston Chronicle 5/16/03 (2003 WL 3259754), Houston County Courier 7/18/04, 8/2/04; telephone call with prosecutor Daphne Session 10/25/04

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Calvin Hunter—black, age 32
Sentenced to death in Harris County, Texas
By: A jury
Date of crime: 10/25/03

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Hunter shot Jong Suk Choi in the neck during an armed robbery of a beauty supply store. The murder was caught on videotape. During the penalty phase the prosecution presented evidence that Hunter had committed another robbery/murder, as well as several other armed robberies during the months leading up to the murder in the beauty supply store. The defense presented evidence that Hunter was retarded and thus ineligible to be sentenced to death.

Prosecutor(s): Luci Davidson, Marie Primm
Defense lawyer(s): Kyle Johnson, Terry Gaiser

Sources: Houston Chronicle 11/21/03, 7/15/04, 7/28/04

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Elijah Dwayne Joubert – black, age 23
Sentenced to death in Harris County, Texas
By: A jury
Date of crime: 4/3/2003

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Joubert and two other men attempted to rob Ace America Check Cashing store. Joubert shot the clerk Alfredia Jones in the head when he realized she had called the police. Officer Charles Clark was shot in the shoulder he responded to the call. Clark returned fire, but his gun jammed and one of the other cohorts shot Clark in the head at point-blank range, killing him. The defense argued one of the other men shot the clerk and coerced Joubert into participating in the robbery.

Prosecutor(s): Dan Rizzo, Tommy LaFon
Defense lawyer(s): Allen Isbell, Jerome Godinich

Sources: Houston Chronicle 10/5/04 (2004 WL 83670546), 10/12/04 (2004 WL 83672077), 10/22/04 (2004 WL 83674327)

Elijah Dwayne Joubert – black, age 24
Sentenced to death in Harris County, Texas
By: A jury
Date of crime: 4/3/2003

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Joubert and two other men attempted to rob Ace America Check Cashing store. Joubert shot the clerk Alfredia Jones in the head when he realized she had called the police. Officer Charles Clark was shot in the shoulder he responded to the call. Clark returned fire, but his gun jammed and one of the other cohorts shot Clark in the head at point-blank range, killing him. The defense argued one of the other men shot the clerk and coerced Joubert into participating in the robbery.

Prosecutor(s): Dan Rizzo, Tommy LaFon
Defense lawyer(s): Allen Isbell, Jerome Godinich

Sources: Houston Chronicle 10/5/04 (2004 WL 83670546), 10/12/04 (2004 WL 83672077), 10/22/04 (2004 WL 83674327)

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Gerald Marshall – black, age 21
Sentenced to death in, Harris County, Texas
By: A jury
Date of crime: May 18, 2003

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Marshall murdered Christopher Dean, a mentally disabled cashier at Whataburger, while Dean worked the graveyard shift. The robbery was an inside job, planned with the restaurant’s then-manager and two other men. Dean had worked at the restaurant 13 years. Dean was at the drive-thru about 4 a.m. when Marshall drove through the drive-thru and demanded the keys to the safe. When Dean was unable to provide the keys, Marshall shot him once in the head.
The defense had Marshall’s mother testify as to how she had been addicted to crack cocaine for years and was unable to cure for her son. Marshall grew up in a series of foster homes and at time suffered physical abuse.

Prosecutor(s): Colleen Barnett & Vic Wisner
Defense lawyer(s): Sidney Crowley & Mack Arnold

Sources: Houston Chronicle 11/13/2004 (2004 WL 83679831)

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John Quintanilla, Jr.—Latino, age 25
Sentenced to death in Victoria County, Texas
By: A jury
Date of crime: 11/24/02

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Quintanilla and another masked gunman robbed a small gambling parlor. One of the patrons, Victor Billings, approached Quintanilla, apparently to protect his wife Linda. Billings grabbed the barrel of the Quintanilla’s rifle. Quintanilla shot him three times, and fired at least three other shots, as well, injuring a couple of other patrons. Quintanilla was linked to a series of other armed robberies in the area in the same time span. Quintanilla had a substantial criminal record. While in jail awaiting trial on this charge, he made two “shanks” (knives) and attacked a guard in an escape attempt. Quintanilla confessed to the murder of Billings, but the defense tried to plant doubt that he was really the robber, suggesting that he was taking the blame for the husband of a relative. At the penalty phase, Quintanilla refused to permit his lawyers to present any evidence.

Prosecutor(s): M. P. “Dexter” Eaves, Ian Hernandez, David Smith
Defense lawyer(s): Jim Beeler, Steve Cihal

Sources: Telephone call with prosecutor Smith 2/14/05; numerous stories in the Victoria Advocate on-line (www.thevictoriaadvocate.com, search for “Quintanilla”)

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Juan Raul Navarro Ramirez—Latino, age 19
Sentenced to death in Hidalgo County, Texas
By: A jury
Date of crime: 1/5/03

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Twelve members of a gang burglarized two adjacent homes demanding drugs, money, and weapons. They shot and killed six persons using automatic rifles. Ramirez was the first of the twelve to go on trial. No information is available concerning the defense approach to the case.

Prosecutor(s): unknown
Defense lawyer(s): unknown

Sources: Houston Chronicle 1/7/03 (2003 WL 3228926), 1/17/03 (2003 WL 3230985), San Antonio Express-News 1/25/03 (2003 WL 5584471), 2/1/03 (2003 WL 5584988), 2/15/ 03 (2003 WL 5586189), 12/21/04 (2004 WL 104083618)

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Donnie Lee Roberts, Jr—white, age 32
Sentenced to death in Polk County, Texas
By: A jury
Date of crime: 10/16/03

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Roberts had a crack cocaine habit. He had been taken in by a girlfriend, Vickie Bowen. Roberts demanded money from her to buy crack. When she refused he shot her three times with a rifle, killing her, and robbed her. He had earlier been convicted of a violent theft in Louisiana, and had absconded to Texas in violation of his conditions of parole. During questioning concerning the Bowen murder, Roberts admitted that he had killed another man in Louisiana twelve years earlier by burglarizing the man’s home, shooting him with a shotgun, and then burning down the home. In mitigation the defense offered evidence of Roberts’ rotten upbringing, his drug/alcohol dependence, and that he was a good father.

Prosecutor(s): Lee Hon, John Holleman
Defense lawyer(s): Stephen Taylor, Don Cantrell

Sources: Telephone call with prosecutor Hon 2/14/05; Alexandria Daily Town Talk (LA) 6/25/04 (2004 WL 60354968); Baton Rouge Advocate 6/26/04 (2004 WL 58406950);
Shreveport Times 6/25/04 (2004 WL 80296745)

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Anthony Shore – white, age 30
Sentenced to death in Harris County, Texas
By: A jury
Date of crime: 4/1992

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Shore was a confessed serial rapist/killer. The crime for which he was on trial was the kidnap/rape/strangulation of Maria Del Carmen Estrada (21). Shore described to police he was hearing voices that he had to possess Estrada. Shore also confessed to killing Laurie Lee Tremblay (15) in 1986, Dana Sanchez (16) in 1995, and Diana Rebollar (9) in 1994. Two of these three victims were raped. He had also been convicted of sexually assaulting two family members. These convictions put him in the DNA database, which then led to his being tied to the Estrada murder when some fingernail scrapings were analyzed that had not been tested earlier. Shore insisted his counsel not cross-examine witnesses, and not present mitigating evidence because he wanted a death sentence.

Prosecutor(s): Kelly Siegler
Defense lawyer(s): Alvin Nunnery, Gerald Bourque

Sources: Houston Chronicle 10/21/04 (2004 WL 83674099), 10/23/04 (2004 WL 83674728), 10/28/04 (2004 WL 83675731)

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Shannon Agofsky—white, age 30
Sentenced to death in federal District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
By: A jury
Date of crime: 1/01

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Agofsky was serving a life-without-parole sentence in federal prison in Beaumont in connection with the kidnapping/bank robbery/murder of a bank president. (He and his older brother kidnapped the bank president, forced him to open the safe, then strapped him to a chair and threw him from a bridge into a lake to drown.) While in an exercise cage Agofsky stomped the head and neck of fellow inmate Luther Plant. Plant’s throat was crushed and he died by drowning in his own blood. Agofsky had planned the murder. Agosky was adept in martial arts, and wrote in a letter shortly before the murder, “All I do is work out, wait to leave and hope the cops mess up and let me around some other [profanity deleted] so I can test out my hand.” The defense presented three other inmates to testify that Plant started the fight.

Prosecutor(s): John B. Stevens, Jr.
Defense lawyer(s): Patrick Black

Sources: Tulsa World 7/9/04, Houston Chronicle 7/17/04, Fort Worth Star-Telegram 1/17/04; Wichita Eagle 7/16/04; Press release from the Office of the U. S. Attorney, Eastern District of Texas 7/16/04

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Chadrick Fulks—white, age 25
Sentenced to death in federal District Court for the District of South Carolina
By: A jury
Date of crime: 11/14/02

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Fulks and cohort Branden Basham escaped from jail in Kentucky and went on a two-week crime spree in November, 2002. They carjacked Alice Donavan from a parking lot, killed her, and dumped her body in a location where it was never found. They also kidnapped and killed West Virginia college student Samantha Burns, whose body was also not found; committed another carjacking where the victim was tied to a tree in the woods, attempted at least one other carjacking, and shot at the police and a civilian. Fulks pleaded guilty, so only the penalty phase was tried to a jury. At that phase, the prosecution presented evidence that Fulks had physically and sexually abused women, was a liar and con artist, and had tried to escape after his arrest. The defense attempted to paint Basham as the leader of the crime spree and Fulks as the follower, and argued that Basham killed Donovan outside Fulks’ presence and without his knowledge. The defense also presented evidence that Fulks was brain-damaged due to fetal alcohol syndrome, and that he had a horrific upbringing. (Note: this case had a particularly vigorously litigated penalty phase—the prosecution called over 100 witnesses, and the defense a substantial number, as well.)

Prosecutor(s): Scott Schools
Defense lawyer(s): John Blume

Sources: Lexington Herald-Leader (KY) 6/1/04; Myrtle Beach Sun News (SC) 6/4/04; Evansville Courier 6/4/04; The State (Columbia SC) 6/6/04; 6/19/04, 6/23/04, 6/25/04, 6/29/04, 6/30/04, Charleston Gazette 6/30/04, 7/1/04, 7/2/04

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Odell Corley—black, age 37
Sentenced to death in Federal N. D. Indiana
By: A jury
Date of crime: 8/27/02

Prosecution’s case/defense response: A group of five accomplices attempted to rob a bank. Corley was one of the accomplices who entered the bank. He immediately shot and killed tellers Kay Peckat and Chandler Simpson, and shot guard Keith Hill, leaving him a quadriplegic.

Prosecutor(s): unknown
Defense lawyer(s): unknown

Sources: Chicago Tribune 9/5/02 (2002 WL 26771433), 12/11/02 (2002 WL 104022734), 11/19/03 (2003 WL 68334032); Chicago Sun-Times 9/5/02 (2002 WL 6470367); Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette 11/10/02 (2002 WL 107241375), Courier-Journal (Louisville) 10/8/04 (2004 WL 95774746)

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