Nov. 17 TEXAS----impending execution Ringleader scheduled to die for 1995 slaying of woman----20-year-old victim had been abducted as part of a robbery plot On Sept. 14, 1995, a solitary hiker followed a set of railroad tracks in northeast Houston intent on collecting aluminum cans for pocket change. The outing abruptly ended, though, when the walker stumbled upon a stomach-roiling scene: the fly-covered, tape-bound body of a young woman decaying in the late summer heat. The victim, identified as 20-year-old Christina Castillo, had been abducted from her Houston apartment complex during a robbery attempt 2 days earlier. Someone had fired 3 bullets into her head. Investigators determined that Castillo had been targeted by 5 young men who intended to rob her and her boyfriend of drugs and cash. The group's ringleader, Eric Cathey, 37, is scheduled to to be executed in the state's Huntsville death house Tuesday. His court-appointed attorney, Kevin Scott "Gator" Dunn, did not return telephone calls seeking comment for this story. The Harris County District Attorney's Office reported the killer has no appeals pending. Unless successful, last-ditch appeals are filed, Cathey will become the 18th Texan executed this year. Testimony in Cathey's trial revealed the men spotted Castillo at a Houston shopping center, then followed her to her apartment complex. As the woman unloaded her car, Cathey, armed with a 9 mm pistol, grabbed her neck and ordered her into his vehicle. As they drove around, the men grilled her about drugs and money. Even after she was kicked and beaten, the woman insisted that she knew nothing about drugs. As the men discussed what to do with their victim, Cathey bound her feet, eyes and mouth with tape. Much of the prosecution's case was based on the testimony of one of the would-be robbers, Lionel Demetrius Bonner. Bonner later was convicted of aggravated kidnapping and sentenced to 30 years in prison a term he currently is serving. A family's suffering Members of Castillo's family could not be contacted. But in court, the victim's mother, Eva Castillo, testified that the family had suffered terribly as a result of the crime. The elder Castillo told jurors her husband drank to dull the pain. Clinical psychologist Walter Quijano testified that Cathey possessed dependent and compulsive personality traits. Although he did not meet strict criteria indicating he suffered from anti-social personality disorder, the expert witness said, Cathey exhibited anti-social characteristics. Robert Yohman, a clinical neuropsychologist, testified Cathey, a high school dropout, was a slow learner who exhibited a simplistic view of life. A killer's upbringing Cathey's sister, Charlotte Ezeh, testified that the killer was pampered at home. But his mother, Willie Lee Cathey, told jurors that the family's home life was tumultuous, with her husband drinking, using drugs and accosting family members with firearms. Cathey married at 17 and fathered two children, jurors were told. Luke Ezeh, Cathey's now former brother-in-law, said he employed the killer in his battery shop. "He was a very good guy," Ezeh said. "He sold batteries and kept the money and never took anything from me. I don't think he deserves to die. He made a mistake, but he should be corrected, not put to death." Ezeh said Cathey was a musician whose partner had absconded with a recording. "He was trying to locate him through the girl and things got out of hand," he said. "That is what I heard. I was not there." In a death row interview, Cathey insisted he had spent the night of the murder watching television with his girlfriend. "I am not guilty of the crime," Cathey said. "I never met the woman." The killer admitted he had been convicted of an earlier drug offense, but said he had never served prison time. Upon arriving on death row, he said, he was "very fearful." "I knew that I didn't do anything," he said. "I had a sense of hopelessness. ... I had seen guys who had gone off to their executions." Now, he added, "I play it by ear. I'm praying to God to work things out." (source: Houston Chronicle) ***************** Execution delayed for Cannady Texas death row inmate Rogelio Cannady will avoid execution Wednesday over a 1993 prison killing. Cannady's execution date was withdrawn today by Judge Ronald Yeager. Cannady's recently appointed appeals lawyer asked for more time to review the case. The judge ordered a March hearing to reset the punishment date. Investigators say Cannady was serving life terms for two other murders when he fatally beat his cellmate. Leovigildo Bonal was attacked at the McConnell Unit at Beeville. Meanwhile, Texas is still preparing for tomorrow's scheduled execution of Eric Dewayne Cathey. The former security guard was condemned for the 1995 slaying of Christina Castillo, whose body was found in a Houston field. Evidence showed Cathey and some other men abducted Castillo, who was ordered to divulge where her boyfriend allegedly hid drugs and money -- so they could rob him. (source: Associated Press) *********************** Officials tout dividends from regional public defender program 2 years ago, the office of the West Texas Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases was nothing but a dream. Now, a year after Lubbock attorney Jack Stoffregen took the reins of the fledgling program, the office is providing financial savings and quality of representation beyond expectations. "It's just amazing to see that it's not only done what we thought it would do, but I think the office has done more than I even envisioned," said David Slayton, director of court administration for Lubbock County. The Lubbock-based office also has branches in Amarillo and Midland comprising an 11-person staff dedicated entirely to the defense of indigent defendants charged with a capital offense in which the state is seeking the death penalty. The quality of defense exceeds anything Stoffregen was able to do in private practice and the office saves participating counties thousands of dollars on indigent defense. Overview 65 counties have signed on to the program. Those counties account for 64,000 square miles of West Texas, with a population base of 1.5 million people. The office is funded by a grant from the Texas Task Force on Indigent Defense, but participating counties agreed to a 5-year payment plan where the counties take on more and more financial responsibility until the office is fully funded by the counties in the 5th year. Stoffregen moved into the office last November and began filling positions. The office was fully staffed by the end of July with 3 attorneys, 3 mitigation experts, one fact investigator and 2 administrative assistants in the Lubbock office. There is an attorney in the Amarillo office and 1 in the Midland office. The 11-person staff is currently handling 11 cases. One of those cases is from Lubbock County. Stoffregen's office has already handled 2 Lubbock cases this year - Ricky Mackey took a 7-year deal and Nathan Lemer agreed to a 50-year prison term. "Our goal is obviously to get something other than a death sentence," Stoffregen said. "Anything other than a death sentence is a victory for us." Quality of defense Stoffregen handled about 15 to 20 capital cases in private practice before becoming chief public defender and tried about 9. The difference between the public defender's office and private practice is like night and day, he said. First, the office is a standing capital defense team, allowing work to begin within 24 hours of the time the defendant is arrested. It can normally take up to 2 or 3 months for a court-appointed private attorney to assemble a team. Second, the capital public defenders only work death penalty cases and aren't burdened by other settings, such as divorces and other crimes. This places the focus solely on capital defense. "It's just incredible the amount of time we can spend on these cases," Stoffregen said. The ability for the defenders office to work free of conflicting cases and settings will likely lead to faster resolution of death penalty cases either in trial or plea agreements, said Tray Payne, an assistant Lubbock County criminal district attorney. Payne handles murder cases and said the job of the public defenders is somewhat like what he does for the District Attorney's office in that they both handle a dedicated caseload. "These type of cases need direct attention," Payne said. "So even though you may have a smaller caseload, they have a greater impact." Because the office is the first of its kind in Texas, Stoffregen and his staff are being invited to seminars and training sessions at no cost. Texas Tech is working with the office, providing interns and supplemental training in alternative disciplines for the public defender staff. Having the time and resources to work with a linguist on communicating with jurors is something Stoffregen said he could never do in private practice, and that benefits the accused. "I think overall the quality of representation - because we have the opportunity to do these things - we're going to be able to do it better," Stoffregen said. "I never would have believed there would have been such a difference until I started working here." Financial benefit Capital defense is not cheap. Lubbock County spent more than $200,000 on the Rosendo Rodriguez trial earlier this year, Slayton said, and that doesn't include the cost of appeals. Slayton likened participating in the program to buying an insurance policy. Some of the rural counties participating in the program are only required to pay about $1,000 per year, and with the average capital murder trial costing a county between $200,000 and $500,000, it would take 150 or 200 years to pay off what it would cost for 1 trial. "That's a pretty good return on your investment if its gonna take you 150 or 200 years to pay off what it would cost if you wouldn't have done it," Slayton said. "Chances are you're going to have a capital murder case in that 150 or 200 years." Lubbock County will pay the most out of the 65 counties, when the counties take full financial responsibility, at about $145,000. If Lubbock County tries 1 capital murder case every 2 years, the cost of the public defender's office is paid off. The big benefit to Lubbock County kicks in if more than 1 death penalty case is tried in the same year - which Slayton said is possible in 2009. Also, there is no fluctuation in capital defense spending between fiscal years, causing headaches for County commissioners at budget time. The amount is the same every year. "When the commissioners are looking at setting the budget, setting the tax rate, they know what we'll be paying next year for capital defense and we've never had that before," Slayton said. "So that's a huge benefit." (source: Lubbock Online) ************* Dallas sex convictions from '90s in question because of withheld evidence Antrone Lynelle Johnson twice was convicted of sexual assault as a high school student, earning him a life sentence. Mr. Johnson, 31, contends that both cases from the mid-1990s were built on lies and prosecutorial misconduct. If a judge agrees, he could be set free as early as Monday. Dallas County prosecutors illegally withheld evidence that might have cleared Mr. Johnson, court records show. In one of the cases, a girl told the prosecutor that Mr. Johnson did not rape her. In the other, the girl gave conflicting statements about whether she had sex with him. Mr. Johnson and his attorneys were not told until this year about either of the girls' comments a violation of the law. The Dallas County district attorney's office agrees that Mr. Johnson's first conviction and life sentence should be overturned. Mr. Johnson has already served a 5-year sentence in the second case. No DNA testing was done in either case. Mike Ware, who heads the conviction integrity unit at the district attorney's office, declined to comment about the case. But a court document he filed Thursday shows that prosecutors now support overturning the decision because prosecutors at the time did not disclose the girls' statements and because state District Judge Mark Tolle briefly forced Mr. Johnson to use a court-appointed attorney when he wanted to hire one. Relatives thrilled Mr. Johnson did not respond to a request for an interview at the Dallas County Jail and his attorney, Shirley Baccus-Lobel, declined to comment about today's scheduled hearing before state District Judge Robert Francis. Mr. Johnson's uncle, Allan Conley of Seagoville, said relatives are thrilled about the possibility of his release. "We don't want to get too excited," in case that doesn't happen, Mr. Conley said. "I'll wait till it happens." The day before Mr. Johnson was to go to trial in the first case, the accuser told the prosecutor that he did not sexually assault her. The girl did not appear for trial. She could not be reached for comment for this story. A copy of a prosecutor's note in the court file from Feb. 5, 1995, reads: "Johnson did not make her give him oral sex. He took her in the bathroom and she told him she didn't want to do it, so he stayed in there and pretended and then let her out." The girl's teachers also questioned the girl's credibility in an interview with a prosecutor. One school official called the girl "a great liar and if you really didn't know her, you'd think that she is telling the truth," according to a copy of a note from the prosecutor's file found in court records. The notes are handwritten and not signed by a particular prosecutor. Still, prosecutors persuaded Mr. Johnson to plead guilty to sexual assault in exchange for 10 years of deferred-adjudication probation. Mr. Johnson's attorney then, Vivian Ray Davis, said in recently filed court records that Mr. Johnson would not have pleaded guilty had the prosecutors informed them of the statements. Statements conflict While on probation in September 1995, Mr. Johnson was accused of having sex with a 13-year-old female schoolmate in a boys bathroom stall at Seagoville High School, court records show. She was 3 months away from 14 the legal age in Texas to consent to sex with the 17-year-old Mr. Johnson. Because she was not old enough to legally consent, Mr. Johnson was accused of sexual assault of a child. Records show the girl came to school with condoms and had sex that day with 3 other students under the basketball bleachers. Those students, including a juvenile, were also charged. One received five years of probation. The other was given 10 years of probation. The status of the juvenile is not known. Court records show the girl gave conflicting statements. She told a grand jury that she had denied to others having sex with Mr. Johnson. But the denial apparently was not revealed to the defense. Judge Tolle, now deceased, sentenced Mr. Johnson in 1996 to 5 years in prison. And he revoked Mr. Johnson's probation for the prior sexual assault and gave him a life sentence. The girl in the 2nd case did not return phone calls seeking comment. No charge No criminal charge exists in Texas for a prosecutor who commits a "Brady violation." The term refers to a 1963 U.S. Supreme Court case, Brady vs. Maryland, in which the court ruled that prosecutors violate a defendant's constitutional rights if they intentionally or accidentally withhold evidence favorable to the defense. The prosecutor in Mr. Johnson's first case no longer works for the Dallas County district attorney's office. She did not return phone calls seeking comment. It is unclear from court records which assistant district attorney prosecuted the second case against Mr. Johnson. Also unclear is the eventual fate of Mr. Johnson. Judge Francis cannot overturn his convictions; he can only make a recommendation to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. But the judge could order Mr. Johnson freed immediately, pending the appeals court decision. (source: Dallas Morning News)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS
Rick Halperin Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:53:07 -0600 (Central Standard Time)
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS Rick Halperin