Jan. 15
TEXAS----impending execution
Arnold Prieto Scheduled to Be 1st to Die in 2015
On Sunday afternoon, Sept. 12, 1993, Maria Luisa Rodriguez visited the San
Antonio home of her parents-in-law Virginia and Rodolfo Rodriguez, only to
discover they'd both been stabbed to death, along with the longtime nanny to
the Rodriguez children, 90-year-old Paula Moran, who lived with the couple.
For months, the police had no leads. But in March 1994, after receiving a
series of anonymous tips, 2 San Antonio Police Department detectives traveled 4
1/2 hours up I-35 to the Dallas suburb of Carrollton, where they met with 2
local detectives, and took the great-nephew of the murdered couple, 16-year-old
Jessie Hernandez, in for questioning, and shortly thereafter arrested his
brother Guadalupe Hernandez and their mutual friend Arnold Prieto. After 4
hours of interrogations, Prieto, then 20, submitted a lengthy statement.
In it, he provided background information about his relationship with the
Hernandez brothers. Shortly after meeting Prieto in May 1993, the 2 introduced
him to cocaine. By that August, Prieto had lost his job, and the 3 were meeting
each night to snort cocaine and watch movies. "It was starting to get out of
hand," he wrote. He fell into financial trouble, losing track of payments on
his rent, utilities, and car loan. Prieto would complain about his financial
situation, and the 2 brothers would counter by talking about their rich uncle
in San Antonio.
Rodolfo Rodriguez, 72, ran a check-cashing business with his wife, 62, out of
their home in San Antonio. The brothers would talk about a closet in the house
that was filled with money. One day, after doing more cocaine, Guadalupe
suggested that the 3 make a trip to San Antonio. They'd rob the Hernandez's
relatives and head back to Carrollton, no problem.
Prieto didn't remember what time they got to the couple's house, only that "it
was very dark." They walked up to the house; Virginia let them in. She offered
them eggs, tortillas, and orange juice. "In my mind, I thought nothing's going
to happen and we will end up just staying the night," he wrote in his
statement. He went into a bedroom with Jessie and Rodolfo; moments later, he
heard Virginia scream. Prieto looked into the kitchen, he wrote, and saw
Guadalupe stabbing his aunt repeatedly with a screwdriver. Rodolfo got up, but
Prieto pushed him back into the bed. Jessie handed Prieto a smaller
screwdriver, which Prieto used to stab Rodolfo.
The 3 made their way through the house, grabbing jewelry and whatever cash they
could find. At some point, Moran emerged from her room, and Jessie stabbed her
with a knife. Reports say Jessie stabbed Moran eight different times. Rodolfo
was stabbed 17 times, and Virginia 31.
Prieto was convicted in June 1995 and sentenced to death for the 3 murders.
Only 16 at the time of killings, Jessie was spared the death penalty and
instead sentenced to life in prison. Charges against Guadalupe were dropped for
lack of sufficient evidence.
Prieto never appealed his verdict, but he did take issue with the punishment -
and blamed his attorneys for the sentence. Specifically, he argued in a writ of
habeas corpus filed May 8, 2002, his trial attorneys Michael Bernard and Julie
Pollock failed to properly use three pieces of evidence during the punishment
phase of the trial. First, they neglected to present his school records - which
were not allowed as evidence during the guilt/innocence phase and showed that
Prieto had "very poor grades" that would keep him from certain career fields.
Second, they did not properly convey a doctor's expert testimony on the effect
that cocaine has on someone's actions - which might have shown that Prieto "had
an impairment on his executive functioning." Finally, they failed to get a copy
of Prieto's statement (damning and descriptive as it was) to the jury during
punishment deliberations.
The jury sent out a series of related notes during those deliberations, going
so far as to ask whether or not, as the appeal notes, "drug use and possible
addiction would be grounds for mitigation." That, compounded with other
questions, had the jury at a temporary standstill over whether Prieto could be
considered a continuing threat to society - a condition for a death sentence.
Ultimately, the appellate court concluded that Pollock had attempted to present
enough mitigating evidence to obtain a life sentence in lieu of the death
penalty, and that the jury's decisions were "informed decisions." It also
determined that the evidence of cocaine abuse was "'double-edged' because it
might establish future dangerousness rather than mitigation," and that the jury
already knew Prieto was a high school dropout who was partially responsible for
supporting his family. "At the start, it must be understood that the defense
had no hope of proving that Mr. Prieto was not a future danger to society," the
court wrote in its analysis. (No doubt, his track record and reports that he
was repeatedly insubordinate during the year he spent in jail after his arrest
played a part in that determination.) "Accordingly," the ruling continued, "the
trial team should have pursued all venues with respect to the mitigation
issue."
On Sept. 15, 2008, Prieto was denied a Certificate of Appealability by the U.S.
5th Circuit Court of Appeals. 8 months later, in 2009, the Supreme Court
refused to review his case. Since then, Prieto has made no further appeal. Now
41, he'll be the 1st person to be executed under Governor Greg Abbott, the 1st
Texas inmate executed this year, and the 521st since the reinstatement of the
state's death penalty in 1976.
(source: Austin Chronicle)
FLORIDA----impending execution
Capital Punishment In Florida: Kormondy Execution Set
Convicted killer Johnny Shane Kormondy is scheduled to be put to death by
lethal injection on Thursday, Jan. 15 for the murder of a Pensacola man more
than 20 years ago. That's pending 11th hour vigils and calls for a last minute
stay.
Kormondy is being executed for his role in the shooting death of Pensacola
banker Gary McAdams and the rape of McAdam's wife Cecilia during a home-
invasion/robbery in July 1993. Kormondy was the alleged mastermind. 2
accomplices Curtis Buffkin and James Hazen were sentenced to life in prison.
After numerous appeals, Governor Rick Scott signed a death warrant in November
2014. The death warrant is the 21st since he took office in 2011. This week,
the governor was asked his thoughts on tying a record for executions.
"You know, capital punishment is a solemn duty of the governor. I review all
their cases. They've gone through all their appeals and the clemency process,
but you know I review all their cases and it's a solemn duty," said Scott.
Across the state, there have been several prayer services in relation to the
planned execution.
"Floridians will be gathered around the state to pray in vigils for peace and
healing for the McAdams family as well as for peace and forgiveness and God's
mercy for Mr. Kormondy," said Michael Sheedy.
Sheedy is executive director of the Florida Catholic Conference, 1 of the
anti-death penalty groups urging Gov. Scott to halt the execution, which has
been set for Thursday, 6 p.m. Eastern.
"Our consistent teachings that every human life is sacred from conception to
natural death, regardless of guilt or innocence because all human life comes
from God, and accordingly we have appealed to the governor for a stay of
execution for Mr. Kormondy and commutation of his sentence to life in prison
without the possibility of parole, which is a severe and just punishment,"
Sheedy said.
And, while the Catholic Church believes that people who've committed heinous
crimes should be held accountable, it draws the line. Deacon Ray Aguado is
coordinator of Advocacy and Justice for the Pensacola-Tallahassee Diocese.
"The church believes that imposing a sentence of death as a result of someone
taking another person's life only perpetuates the cycle of violence and doesn't
recognize the dignity of life for all persons," Aguado said.
Locally, Aguado has coordinated a number of prayer vigils, including one that
was held Friday at the Basilica of St. Michael's the Archangel in Pensacola.
Also, a prayer service was planned for this Wednesday night at 6:00 at St. Mary
Catholic Church in Fort Walton Beach.
At the other end of the diocese, the group Tallahassee Citizens Against the
Death Penalty will sponsor an interfaith prayer vigil on Thursday night - at
the same hour as the execution - in front of the Governor's Mansion.
Meantime, other organizations are involved in the vigils and have been actively
petitioning for a last minute stay of execution for Kormondy. That includes
Amnesty International and Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.
The group's executive director Marc Elliott says right now, the only legal
alternative in the state is a sentence of life without the possibility of
parole.
"That accomplishes the same thing, but there's no killing involved. We've had
25 people so far, who were wrongfully convicted who have been released from
death row and that happened at the same time that 89 people were executed,"
said Elliott.
According to Elliott, that equates to nearly '1 exoneration for every 3
executions in the state.'
Specifically, there have been 89 executions in Florida since 1976, when the
U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed the death penalty, after finding it
unconstitutional in 1972. Previously, there had been 314 executions in Florida.
Elliott says there are a number of reasons why he believes doing away with the
death penalty would be a good thing.
"You know, a sentence of life without parole is carried out immediately and
healing can begin a lot sooner. It costs a lot less and if a mistake is made,
as we've made so many mistakes in Florida, more than any other state in the
country."
According to Project Innocence, 25 people exonerated off Florida's death row,
followed by 20 death row exonerations in Illinois, and 12 in Texas.
Elliot says under a sentence of life without parole, a person could ultimately
be freed if mistakes are made.
It is because capital punishment is final that the state doesn't take such
cases lightly. That's according to Assistant State Attorney John Molchan, who
notes that the final act in the Kormondy case has been decades in the making.
"These types of cases take a long time to finally reach the ultimate sentence
and there's good reason for that. They should be scrutinized very carefully
from beginning to end, because in essence, the ultimate punishment is carried
out," said Molchan.
Molchan serves as felony supervisor and is in charge of special prosecutions
for State Attorney Bill Eddins. In his career, Molchan has prosecuted 8 death
penalty cases. He's now part of a special panel in the first judicial circuit
that reviews every 1st-degree murder case to determine whether capital
punishment is appropriate.
1 factor to be considered is if a homicide is committed during the commission
of other felonies.
"In the Kormondy case, this murder occurred while in the course of committing a
sexual battery as well as a burglary or robbery. There basically is an aspect
of that that is very important. One of the things is cold, calculated and
pre-meditated or heinous, atrocious and cruel," Molchan said.
Now after more than 20 years, 3 trials and numerous appeals, the case has held
up and is coming to a close. Pending a last minute reprieve the execution of
Johnny Kormondy will take place Thursday night at Florida State Prison in
Starke. Associated Press is reporting that Gary McAdam's brother Tom McAdams is
planning to be there as a witness.
The last person to be executed for a case stemming out of Escambia County was
Clarence Hill, who shot and killed Pensacola police officer Stephen Taylor in
1982. Hill spent 23 years on death row before his execution in 2006.
(source: WUWF news)
ALABAMA:
Man being removed from Alabama Death Row for retrial in 1985 slayings of
Birmingham fast food managers
After spending nearly 30 years awaiting execution for the deaths of 2
Birmingham area fast-food restaurant managers, Anthony Ray Hinton will be
removed from Alabama death row in the next few weeks to await a new trial in
the slayings.
Meanwhile, prosecutors are trying to track down witnesses from the 1st trial
and searching to see what physical evidence may still be available to decide
how, or even if, they have enough to prosecute Hinton again.
Jefferson County Circuit Judge Laura Petro on Wednesday ordered the Alabama
Department of Corrections to bring Hinton from death row at Holman Prison to
the county jail to await a new trial in the 1985 slayings. The judge in October
had overturned Hinton's conviction and ordered he be retried in the wake of
rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court and Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals.
Hinton, 58, is to be returned to Jefferson County in time for a Feb. 18
hearing, Petro stated in her order.
Jefferson County District Attorney Brandon Falls said that he expects Petro
will set a trial date at that hearing.
Petro on Dec. 11 had issued an order allowing both prosecutors and the defense
access to physical evidence in the circuit clerk's office.
The passage of nearly three decades, however, will make it tough for
prosecutors to retry the case, Falls said.
"Obviously it's difficult to try a case after 30 years," Falls said. "That's
why we're in the process of determining where all the physical evidence is now,
what witnesses are available to testify and (gather) any evidence the defense
has complied over the years through their investigations."
Some witnesses may no longer be alive, Falls said.
Many of the death penalty cases where convictions were set aside and the inmate
was ultimately freed was because the prosecution was unable to put a case back
together years later, Falls said. "It is often claimed that the person was
exonerated when in fact the simple passage of so much time prevented anyone
from re- prosecuting the case," he said.
Chief Deputy District Attorney John Bowers and Deputy District Attorney Mike
Anderton are now assigned to the case, Falls said.
Efforts to reach Hinton's attorney, Bryan Stevenson, executive director of the
Montgomery-based Equal Justice Initiative, were unsuccessful. The EJI maintains
Hinton is inncocent.
Petro in October had ordered Hinton's conviction set aside and for him to be
retried. She issued the order after rulings earlier in 2014 from the U.S.
Supreme Court and Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals that she should look at
whether the lawyer for Anthony Ray Hinton should have hired a better firearms
expert for his trial.
Hinton was convicted of killing 2 fast-food restaurant managers and wounding a
3rd during 3 robberies in 1985.
Hinton was convicted largely on the strength of the eyewitness testimony of the
surviving restaurant manager and expert testimony from prosecution witnesses
that bullets recovered from all 3 crime scenes had been fired by a pistol
police found in his home.
A man hired by Hinton's trial attorney to counter state forensics experts
testified the bullets could not be matched to the gun, but in stinging cross
examination was discredited by the prosecution over his qualifications and
findings.
Hinton's court appointed defense attorney had contended that he tried to find a
better firearms expert cut could not find one with the limited funds he had.
But the appeals courts ruled that the defense attorney did not know that the
spending limits for such experts had been lifted and he could have hired a
better one.
Hinton was convicted and sentenced to death for the Feb. 25, 1985 shooting
death of John Davidson, an assistant manager at a Southside Mrs. Winner's, was
forced into the restaurant's cooler and shot twice in the head. The store was
robbed of $2,100. He also was convicted in the July 2, 1985 death of 25-year
-old Thomas Vason, an assistant manager at a Captain D's in Woodlawn, was
forced into a cooler and shot twice in the head. That restaurant was robbed of
$650.
Hinton also was charged related to the July 26, 1985 shooting of Quincy's night
manager Sid Smotherman Jr., who was shot in the head and hand in a robbery at
the Bessemer restaurant. Smotherman survived and testified at Hinton's trial
that he was driving home after work when Hinton bumped his car, and when he got
out to check for damage Hinton forced him at gunpoint to drive back to the
restaurant.
The issue over whether the defense gun expert was qualified to testify in
Hinton's case has been going for more than 6 years.
As of today Hinton has been on death row 29 years, four months and 28 days. He
also spent another 485 days in the county jail.
(source: al.com)
OHIO:
Letters From Death Row: Jeffrey Wogenstahl, Ohio Inmate A269-357
From time to time we publish letters from death row inmates. Today, we bring
you a letter from Jeffrey Wogenstahl, who is scheduled to be executed by the
state of Ohio in January of 2016.
Jeffrey Wogenstahl was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1991 kidnapping
and murder of Amber Garrett, a 10-year-old girl from Harrison, Ohio. A court's
recap of the case can be seen here.
We publish letters from death row inmates not to re-litigate their cases, or to
take a position on their guilt or innocence, but to give a voice to a group of
people who are rarely heard from. The following letter is Wogenstahl's response
to our request for his thoughts, sent to us via an email system accessible to
prison inmates.
Mr. Nolan,
The following is in response to your inquires about death row and myself: This
ordeal started on the morning of November 24, 1991. The police knocked on my
apartment door investigating a missing persons report. I volunteered to help
assistant them in any way I could and gave full permission for them to search
my apartment. I had nothing to hide. Unfortunately they did find half a joint
and since I was on parole I was incarcerated on parole violation. It was pure
stupidity on my part getting high (pot) while still on parole. I was gave 2
years by the parole board for having marijuana in my apartment.
A year later, while still serving the parole violation, I was indicted for
murder. My trial was literally a complete joke. My lawyer was working for
prosecutor joe deters, I was not gave ANY investigators, and defense experts,
or ANY kind of means to prepare a defense. The jury was only informed on what
the prosecutors presented and nothing by my attornies. The jury was prohibited
from seeing scientific test results that showed it was NOT me who committed the
murder. My trial consisted of perjured testimony, false testimony, the
prosecution knew testimony was perjured, they with held favorable evidence, and
made totally improper comments to the jury. In NO WAY did I receive a fair
trial. All of this is clearly substantianted by court records.
Needless to say, I was convicted and sentenced to death for a crime I did NOT
do. My first ten years on death row were spent learning the law and filing
numerous pro se documents as I did have 24 hours a day to go through my trial
transcript and understand how the appeal system works. The lawyers appointed
usually had as many as 10 death row clients and were totally overworked with
limited finances to do your appeals. The appeals decides who gets executed and
who may be lucky enough to get off death row or be granted a new trial. If I
hadn't spent all those years learning the law and filing various documents, I
would have been executed many years ago.
I don't fear dying at all. Every human will die one day. I only hope that I
will one day be allowed a FAIR TRIAL and have the jury see ALL the evidence.
Recently I have obtained a crime scene investigator/expert who has reached the
conclusion it was NOT me. All this is presently being litigated in the courts.
The problem is I wasn't afforded lawyers who actually cared about the truth
until after I was gave an execution date. This is very common during death
penalty appeals. Of course very few even attempt to understand the appellate
procedures or help assist their lawyers. I personally did NOT trust my lawyers
with my life. My trial lawyers are the reason I'm on death row.
The psychological aspect of having a death sentence can be complicated.
Personally I will NEVER allow them to incarcerate my mind or take my peace of
mind. If it's my fate that I am to be murdered by the State of Ohio I go in
complete peace with everyone and everything. After 23 years on death row for
something I didn't do, my death is my freedom. It would just be a shame if the
truth isn't told. The truth has NOT been told. What I really don't understand
is that if the state is so conviced I committed the murder, why are they so
afraid of allowing me a new trial where the jury can be shown ALL THE
EVIDENCE?! My past is not one of being a model citizen whatsoever. I have
convictions for robbery and burglary and have served many years in prison.
However, nothing even remotely close to what I've been convicted of.
I grew up in a decent family in the subarbs of Cinncinati, Ohio. The Mt.
Healthy and Northgate areas. I went in the army when I was 17 and should have
stayed there. I don't consider myself a "religious" man but I am a spiritual
person. My daily routine is spent within my prison cell. I don't leave it
except for my daily shower and to use the kiosk. This is by my own choice as I
prefer to be left alone. Inside this cell is MY world and while they have my
body locked up, they will NEVER control my mind. The vast majority of the guys
around me can't handle being in their cells 23 hours a day. They have to
participate in prison socializing. That's their choice as it's mine to stay in
my cell and don't want to be bothered.
I occupy my time quite literally within my mind. Whether I'm painting or just
looking out the window, my mind is free to go anywhere. I am fortunate enough
to have a very special friend and we're in contact on a daily basis. As strange
as it sounds, being on death row all these years has actually been benificial
for me. I've finally "grown up" and learned to show consideration to those who
help me. To be considerate of others' feelings and not just mine. I've also
learned to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. Small things like watching a
mother bird feed her young, enjoy a breath of fresh air containg the smell of
flowers, just staring up at the sky and watching the clouds go by. All so very
simple things of life I never appreciated my entire life. Truth is, very few on
the outside do either.
I know in my heart I'm a good person and that means a lot. Everyone is
certainly entitled to their opinion but sometimes it's simply not based on all
the facts. I think the majority of people belive that if a person is convicted
of a crime they must be guilty. Unfortunately that logic is not correct all the
time. Of course what politician or government official would acknowledge there
is even a slight chance an innocent person could be executed? Not even in the
hypothetical context would they admit that!! It's not politically correct nor
do proponents of the death penalty ever want to even consider it!!! It's
always, "the appeals would prevent an innocent person from ever being executed"
mentality!! It does NOT always work like that. The judicial system is far to
often for those who can afford it. I only wish the blood thirsty public (of
Ohio) would take the time to be better educated on the truth of the entire
judicial system and not just what the politicians tell them. So whatever is
going to happen, will. If anyone who might read this is interested, please
visit jeffrey wogenstahl.com where the legal aspects of my joke of a trial are
shown and supported by court documents. Thank You.
Sincerely, Jeff
(source: gawker.com)
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