Rick Halperin
2018-09-28 03:53:52 UTC
September 27
TEXAS----executions
Texas puts Daniel Acker to death, the 2nd execution in 2 days----Acker was
convicted in the 2000 murder of his girlfriend in East Texas. Her body was
found on the side of the road after neighbors said they saw him abduct her.
For the 2nd time in 1 days, Texas carried out an execution Thursday. It was the
state's 10th execution of the year, and the 18th in the nation.
Daniel Acker, 46, was put to death in Huntsville's execution chamber hours
after the U.S. Supreme Court denied his last appeal, just 24 hours after
another man, Troy Clark, died by lethal injection in the same spot.
Acker was sentenced to death in the 2000 East Texas murder of his girlfriend,
32-year-old Marquetta George. Her body was found on the side of the road
several miles away from the trailer they shared in Hopkins County after their
neighbors said they saw Acker grab her, toss her over his shoulder and shove
her into his truck, according to court records. Acker had maintained that he
was taking her to confront a man she had slept with and she jumped from his
moving vehicle.
With all appeals exhausted, Acker was injected with a lethal dose of
pentobarbital shortly after 6 p.m. and pronounced dead at 6:25 p.m., according
to the prison department. He gave no final statement.
George's brother attended the execution, according to a prison witness list.
Acker had no friends or family present at the time of his death.
Both Acker and the state agreed that he kidnapped his girlfriend during a fight
on March 12, 2000. The 2 had argued at a club the night before, and he spent
the night searching for her around town, he testified at trial. Shortly after a
man brought her home the next morning, she ran to her neighbor's home asking
for help, and Acker took her away in his truck.
But there are multiple theories as to what happened between George’s abduction
and her severely wounded body being found on the side of the road. At Acker’s
trial in 2001, the state told the jury that George died by strangulation, blunt
force injuries or both, court records show. The state's main theory was that
Acker strangled George to or near death, pulled her out of his truck and then
ran her over.
But during an appellate hearing, the state’s own expert said George's injuries
weren't consistent with strangulation, and the theory arose that Acker pushed
her from the truck and then ran over her. The federal judge who took over the
case after the hearing wrote in a later opinion that the evidence pointed to
her having been "unconscious or incapacitated" when pulled from the truck and
then run over by Acker.
Acker's attorney argued that the change of theory necessitated a new look at
his case. He said in a filing last year that his conviction and death sentence
were upheld "based on false evidence, a now-discredited theory, and a new
theory never presented to his jury."
"There are now serious doubts as to whether this case was a homicide at all,"
wrote Acker's attorney, Richard Ellis, in a recent filing to the Texas Court of
Criminal Appeals. "Mr. Acker was tried and convicted on the theory that he had
abducted the victim Marquetta George and then strangled her while driving, a
theory that the State has now disavowed in federal court."
But despite the shifting primary theory, federal and state courts upheld
Acker's murder conviction, saying the indictment and jury charge allowed the
jury to decide George was killed by blunt force injuries alone, even if much of
the evidence presented - including autopsy testimony - focused on
strangulation.
"The district court found that the jury could have convicted Acker based on a
theory of strangulation, a theory of blunt-force injury, or a combination of
the 2," wrote the federal appellate court in its opinion upholding the lower
court's ruling. "... Although the prosecution referred to strangulation in
closing argument, the same argument could easily apply to running over George,
regardless of whether she had been strangled."
Acker turned himself in after George's death - he flagged down a patrol car as
it passed by his mother's house, according to court documents. His attorney
wrote that he has admitted to her kidnapping and has expressed remorse for that
but that George's death was "a tragic accident, and never a homicide."
The state, represented by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his office,
said in its last briefing filed Tuesday at the U.S. Supreme Court that Acker
has already failed to persuade the courts - and the jury - of this claim.
"Acker produces no new evidence showing he did not commit the crime but
continues to assert that George’s death resulted from her leap from the vehicle
- a theory rejected by the jury at the time of trial," wrote Assistant Attorney
General Ellen Stewart-Klein.
(source: Texas Tribune)
**********************
Texas man put to death in state's 2nd execution in 2 nights
The whole thing started with a fight at the Bustin' Loose nightclub. It was a
late night, with lots of booze - and whispers of another man involved.
When it was all said and done, Marquetta George ended up dead and bloodied on
the side of the road. 18 years later, on Thursday night, her former boyfriend
Daniel Acker was put to death for her murder.
He always maintained his innocence but gave no final statement. He took one
deep breath and kept his eyes closed the entire time, according to Texas prison
officials.
The 46-year-old was pronounced dead at 6:25 p.m., 14 minutes after the lethal
dose began.
(sources: Houston Chronicle)
********************************
Texas Death Row Inmate Troy Clark Executed, Last Words Revealed
A Texas man was put to death on Sept. 26 for the torture and killing of a woman
in May 1998, according to reports.
The Associated Press reported that Troy Clark, a drug dealer, denied killing
Christina Muse before his execution. He laughed as he talked to several friends
who were watching the execution from a window, telling them that he loved them
and "it's all good."
"I'm not the one who killed Christina," he also said. "But, hey, whatever makes
you happy."
As a lethal dose of pentobarbital was administered, he kept laughing and said
the drug "burned." He added: "I feel it" before officials pronounced him dead
21 minutes later.
Margaret Bouman, the aunt of Muse, saw the execution and said: "I'm a Christian
and the death penalty and accepting it was very, very difficult for me."
"But I also believe the law of the land is important," she said, adding that
Clark's demeanor during the execution was disturbing.
According to the Texas Tribune, Clark had been accused by prosecutors of 2
other murders and several other crimes. Prosecutors said that he beat and
drowned Muse before putting her remains in a barrel filled with concrete.
During the trial's punishment phase, Clark stated: "I really ain't got no story
to tell. It's just I want the death penalty," AP reported.
(source: The Epoch Times)
*************************
Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present----37
Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982----present-----555
Abbott#--------scheduled execution date-----name------------Tx. #
38---------Oct. 10----------------Juan Segundo------------556
39---------Oct. 24----------------Kwame Rockwell----------557
40---------Nov. 7-----------------Emanuel Kemp, Jr.-------558
41---------Nov. 14----------------Robert Ramos------------559
42---------Dec. 4-----------------Joseph Garcia-----------560
43---------Dec. 11----------------Alvin Braziel-----------561
44---------Jan. 15----------------Blaine Milam------------562
45---------Jan. 30----------------Robert Jennings---------563
(sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin)
VIRGINIA:
Jury hears closing arguments in trial for slain officer
Defense lawyers for an Army staff sergeant accused of killing his wife and a
police officer on her 1st shift pleaded with a jury to convict their client on
a charge other than capital murder.
A jury heard closing arguments Tuesday in the death penalty trial of Ronald
Hamilton, 34, of Woodbridge, who is charged with capital murder and other
counts in the February 2016 fatal shootings of Crystal Hamilton and Officer
Ashley Guindon.
He is also charged with attempted capital murder of two police officers who
survived the shooting, Jesse Hempen and David McKeown.
During 2 weeks of testimony, jurors heard evidence that Crystal Hamilton called
911 after her husband struck her and slammed her to the floor. Jurors heard the
911 call which ended with Crystal Hamilton pleading, "Stop!" Prosecutors say
Ronald Hamilton shot his wife four times with a Glock handgun.
Several officers responded to the 911 call. The officers tried to enter the
house to check on Crystal Hamilton's welfare, but Ronald Hamilton refused to
let them in. One of the officers then kicked open the front door, only to find
Hamilton crouched with an AK-47 rifle opening fire. All 3 officers who
initially responded to the home were struck, including Guindon, who had just
been sworn in as an officer. Hempen and McKeown, who testified at the trial,
survived but suffered serious injuries.
Gene Hart, one of Hamilton's public defenders, acknowledged to the jury during
Tuesday's closing arguments that Hamilton is guilty of the slayings. But he
argued that the killings lacked the premeditation necessary for a
capital-murder conviction and possible death penalty. Instead, he urged the
jury to convict on lesser charges of either second-degree murder or voluntary
manslaughter, saying Hamilton was acting in the heat of passion.
"The government has to prove to you - what was Ronald Hamilton's intent? What
were his thoughts? It is getting inside the mind of the defendant," Hart said.
Prosecutor Richard Conway said the most obvious evidence of premeditation is
the fact that Hamilton selected a Glock handgun to shoot his wife, and then
upgraded to a more powerful AK-47 rifle in preparation for the anticipated
police response.
"A .45 Glock, that's just not going to do it when the police arrive," Conway
said.
While prosecutors presented an overwhelming amount of evidence, they were
hamstrung by a ruling that barred them from presenting expert testimony like
DNA and ballistics evidence or the conclusions of the medical examiner's
report.
The judge barred the testimony after prosecutors missed a deadline requiring
advance notice to the defense of such experts.
Hart sought to capitalize on that during closing arguments, noting the lack of
DNA and fingerprint evidence and suggesting that prosecutors should have been
more thorough in a potential death-penalty case.
"The failure to provide readily available evidence is just startling," Hart
said.
Conway told jurors their obligation was to decide the case on the evidence that
was in front of them as opposed to "speculating on what else might be out
there."
If convicted of capital murder, prosecutors will seek the death penalty during
the trial's sentencing phase. A sentencing phase would likely involve several
weeks of testimony, and jurors would choose one of two options: execution or
life in prison.
(source: Associated Press)
FLORIDA:
Parkland Shooter Due in Court Facing Death Penalty
The young man accused of going on a deadly shooting rampage in Parkland,
Florida will be back in court Wednesday.
19-year-old Nikolas Cruz is facing the death penalty, charged with killing 17
people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February.
Officials say a number of issues could come up at Wednesday's status hearing
including the release of evidence and witness interviews.
Defense lawyers say Cruz is willing to plead guilty to the murders if he could
dodge the death penalty in exchange for life in prison.
But prosecutors are rejecting the plea.
(source: 9and10news.com)
ALABAMA----new death sentence
Ala. jury recommends death for Dearman----Leakesville native found guilty of
mass killing near Citronelle
Editor's Note: The following was produced with permission from reports by
reporter Mark R. Kent of the Call-News newspaper in Citronelle. Readers are
advised that it contains disturbing details from testimony.
A Mobile County jury has recommended a Greene County man be sentenced to death
for one of Alabama's most gruesome mass murders.
It took a Mobile County jury 65 minutes to find Leakesville resident Derrick
Dearman guilty of capital murder last Thursday and recommended he be sentenced
to die by lethal injection.
The sentence came after a week of testimony in Mobile County Circuit Judge Rick
Stout's courtroom. Stout will formally sentence Dearman on Oct. 12.
Dearman, now 30, acted as his own attorney during the four days of testimony
and deliberation. Earlier this month, Dearman entered pleas of guilty to 10
counts of capital murder. Despite his admittance of guilt in the killing of 5
people who had once considered him to have been a friend, Alabama law required
the case to go to trial and be presented in full detail because of the death
penalty consideration. He showed little emotion when the jury's decision was
read aloud.
"Death penalty cases are always difficult, but we believe the jury's verdict
was the appropriate verdict," Mobile County District Attorney Ashley Rich said.
"What the defendant did was barbaric, it was unconscionable, and what made it
more unconscionable is that he knew exactly what he was doing. He wanted to do
it."
"And then he came in here and during the entire trial, he never showed any
emotion."
The actions Dearman is likely to pay for with his life occurred over 2 years
ago in the pre-dawn hours of Aug. 20, 2016. That is when Dearman admits forcing
his way into a home west of Citronelle on Jim Platt Road. After making his way
inside, Dearman went on an unspeakably savage rampage. By the time he left the
house, there were 5 people dead after Dearman attacked them repeatedly with an
ax before using a handgun and shotgun, belonging to the victims, to shoot them
in an effort to confirm their deaths.
Victims in the case included Robert Lee Brown, Joseph Adam Turner, Shannon
Melissa Randall, Justin Kaleb Reed and Chelsea Marie Reed, who was pregnant at
the time.
The only adult to survive the deadly event was Dearman's off-again, on-again
girlfriend, Laneta Lester, who was staying at the home as Turner was Lester's
brother. Turner and Randall's 3-month-old son was also in the house as the
killings unfolded but was spared from the attacks.
During testimony, Lester told of grabbing the child during Dearman's rampage in
an effort to protect the infant from the attacks. Dearman reportedly spared the
lives of Lester and the infant but forced them to leave the scene with him in a
vehicle belonging to one of the victims.
Lester testified that Dearman drove them around southeast Mississippi for hours
before arriving at the home of Dearman's father in Leakesville. Lester said
while the father was making an effort to convince Dearman to turn himself in,
she was able to drive away from the house and make her way back to Citronelle
to report the crime. Dearman turned himself in to authorities at the Greene
County Sheriff's Office.
Dr. Staci Turner of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, who performed
autopsies on 3 of the victims and certified the autopsies of the other 2,
testified that all 5 of the victims were struck repeatedly, mostly in the head
and face, with the ax Dearman confirmed he found outside the house before he
burst inside.
Despite the fact all were badly wounded and in great pain, Turner testified,
the victims continued to resist Dearman's attacks including Justin Reed who
tried to defend himself with a handgun. Dearman was able to wrestle the
.45-caliber pistol away from Justin Reed and used it to fatally shoot him and 3
of the other victims.
According to testimony presented at trial, after Dearman fired all of the
rounds in the handgun he picked up a 12-gauge shotgun he found in the home and
used it to shoot Randall.
A particularly striking sight occurred on the trial's 1st day when a Mobile
County Sheriff's Office video of the crime scene showed the victims dead in the
home where they fell.
Brown, 26, lay dead by the front door, while the Reeds, both 23, lay in the 2nd
bedroom. In the master bedroom, Turner, 27, and Randall, 36, lay dead.
As the soundless, 11-minute film clip played, every eye in the court appeared
to follow the slow walk the MCSO videographer took though the house - every set
of eyes, that is, except Derrick Dearman, who looked away, head down, from a
computer screen just to his left on the defendant's table.
Throughout the trial, Dearman acted as his own attorney and freely admitted the
murders were portrayed in the trial exactly as he committed them.
"Everything the district attorney has said is true," Dearman said.
Lester testified that on the Wednesday before the killings, Dearman and Joseph
Turner got together at Jim Platt Road to chop up an old trailer so that Dearman
could sell it for scrap. That night, she said, Dearman spent the night with
Lester at the home. The next day, Randall, who owned the home along with
Turner, told Dearman he couldn’t stay, so Lester had Turner take her back to a
home in Lucedale where they were staying at the time.
That night, she testified, Dearman beat her again, and she called her brother
and asked him to take her back to the home on Jim Platt Road. That Friday
night, Dearman made multiple appearances at the home but was continually asked
to leave, she said.
Detective Nick King, then with the Citronelle Police Department, testified that
he was dispatched to the home about 12:40 a.m. Aug. 20 for a trespassing
complaint regarding Dearman.
Lester testified she felt a tap on her shoulder later that morning as Dearman
reached in through a living room window to awaken her. She stated that Dearman
begged for a cigarette and something to drink, when she told him no and that he
needed to leave, she said Dearman became angry. Lester said she refused to go
outside and went back to sleep, but was awakened again, this time by the sounds
of gunfire.
During his defense presentation in the penalty phase, Dearman put both his
parents, Sonja and Gary Dearman, on the stand.
"I take full responsibility for how he was raised," Gary Dearman said during
his testimony.
Several other family members and friends spoke, mostly about the defendant's
years growing up, and occasionally making reference to his getting involved
with drugs.
Dearman himself also testified.
"The state presented evidence and there is nothing I can do to make it right,"
he said during a brief statement. "It doesn't mean I don't try. I put my
mitigation on behalf of my family."
(source: greenecountyheraldonline.com)
ILLINOIS:
Rauner doubles down on call to reinstate death penalty
Illinois hasn't executed anyone since 1999, but Gov. Bruce Rauner is once again
pushing to bring back the death penalty.
The governor told officers at a ceremony Tuesday for murdered Chicago Police
Cmdr. Paul Bauer that people who kill cops should be put to death.
"That is what is right. That is what is just," Rauner said. "Our police
officers put themselves at risk to protect us. And we must protect you."
The governor first talked about reinstating the death penalty back in the
spring, but the idea failed to gain traction with lawmakers.
"I call again on the members of the General Assembly to join with me and
reinstate the death penalty for anyone convicted beyond any doubt of killing a
police officer," Rauner said.
Former Gov. George Ryan emptied Illinois' death row in 2000 after a series of
wrongful convictions. Lawmakers abolished the death penalty in 2011.
(source: Illinois News Network)
OKLAHOMA:
Death row inmate weds undertaker 34 years his junior
An apprentice undertaker was due to marry a death row inmate 34 years her
senior who has survived an appointment with an executioner and is awaiting
another.
Leigha Jurasik, 21, has not had any physical contact with Richard Glossip as
the couple have always been separated by bars and thick glass on jail visits.
However, after the ceremony in Oklahoma yesterday they were due to be allowed
30 minutes together, overseen by prison guards.
Glossip was sentenced to death for arranging the murder in 1997 of Barry Van
Treese, the owner of an Oklahoma City motel that Glossip was managing.
He maintains his innocence and was found guilty on the basis of the account of
a maintenance man, who confessed to the killing but escaped.
(source: The Times)
CALIFORNIA:
Suspect in DTLA homeless attacks charged with 3 murders, 5 attempted murders
The suspect in a series of vicious attacks on homeless men in LA has been
charged with 3 counts of murder and 5 counts of attempted murder, officials
said Wednesday.
Ramon Alberto Escobar, 47, has been accused of a series of attacks on men, most
of them homeless, while they were sleeping in downtown Los Angeles and Santa
Monica. 3 of the men died.
Officials have said the motive for the attacks was robbery. He is also being
charged with 4 counts of 2nd-degree robbery.
If convicted, Escobar is eligible for the death penalty. He also could face a
possible maximum sentence of life in prison without parole. The District
Attorney's Office said it will decide later whether to seek the death penalty.
Escobar has also been linked to the disappearance of his own aunt and uncle
from the Houston area.
He appeared briefly in a Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday afternoon. Cameras
were not allowed to show his face out of concerns it could influence the jury
in his upcoming case. A plea was not entered and he is expected back in court
for an arraignment on Nov. 8
Escobar was arrested Monday after another attack on a man sleeping on the beach
in Santa Monica.
Police officials call him a "violent predator."
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said Tuesday night that
Escobar had been deported six times from the United States. He was first
ordered removed from the United States by a federal immigration judge in
February 1988.
He was then removed to El Salvador 6 times from 1997 to 2011. He also has 6
felony convictions for burglary and illegal reentry.
According to an ICE statement: "After illegally reentering the U.S. following
his most-recent removal Alberto-Escobar filed an appeal of his immigration case
with the Board of Immigration Appeals in June 2016, which the courts granted in
December 2016. ICE released him from custody on an Order of Supervision in
January 2017 pursuant to the court's decision."
ICE has now filed a detainer against Escobar following Monday's arrest. A
detainer indicates the agency would like to take a person into custody if he or
she is released from the custody of another law enforcement agency.
ESCOBAR'S ALLEGED VICTIMS:
The court complaint filed by the Los Angeles County DA's office details the
names of the alleged victims of Escobar's attacks:
Alleged murder victims: Branden Ridout, Kelvin Williams, Steven Cruze.
Alleged attempted murder victims: Tievon Harmon, Willliam Rivera, Khiry Elijah
Clark, Juan Antonio Ramirez, Jorge Martinez.
The complaint says all of the attempted-murder victims were left comatose, with
brain injury and paralysis, after the attacks.
Most of the victims have been identified as homeless. Cruze's family said the
San Gabriel man was not homeless. He was a father of 2 who worked two jobs and
sometimes slept under the Santa Monica pier after fishing. His family has
started a GoFundMe page to help pay for funeral expenses.
Corwyn McKinney said he was best friends with Kelvin Williams. McKinney told
Eyewitness News they grew up together in St. Louis and both were homeless
together in Los Angeles.
He said he's still trying to process his friend's death and the anger he feels
toward Escobar, wondering if he'll ever find it in his heart to forgive.
"For him to take the time to prey on these people who were in these secluded
spots for their own safety - he's a monster," McKinney said. "He's a monster.
He's a real boogeyman, he really is."
(source: KABC News)
USA:
U.S. District Judge Keeley: Death penalty jurors to fill out questionnaires at
home
Potential jurors in a death penalty case involving 2 U.S. Penitentiary Hazelton
prisoners set for spring 2020 will fill out jury questionnaires at home, Senior
U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley ruled Tuesday.
During a status conference in the case of defendants Michael A. Owle, 29, of
Cherokee, North Carolina, and Ruben Laurel, 39, of San Antonio, Texas, Keeley
said because the federal courthouse in Clarksburg is too small to accommodate
the 300 person jury pool needed for the trial, the questionnaires will be
mailed to selected individuals in Harrison, Braxton, Calhoun, Doddridge,
Gilmer, Pleasants, Marion, Monongalia, Preston, Ritchie and Taylor counties.
The questionnaire process is expected to take around 15 days to complete,
Keeley said.
Keeley has previous ruled jury selection will begin March 16, 2020, with time
set aside between April 6-30, 2020 for the trial. The lawyers believe it could
take up to 10 days to seat a jury, a week or more for the trial and then
possibly twice that long for a separate trial - if necessary - on whether the
death penalty should be imposed.
Although Keeley has presided over such prosecutions before, none has reached
trial with the death penalty still on the table.
Owle and Laurel were indicted May 1 on charges of aiding and abetting
1st-degree murder and of assault with a dangerous weapon.
They're accused in the alleged Aug. 29, 2012, stabbing death of fellow Hazelton
inmate Anthony Morris Dallas, 31, as well as the stabbing of another inmate.
Dallas, who was 31 at the time of his death, was serving a total sentence of 55
years imposed in 2004 by Senior U.S. District Judge James A. Parker.
Dallas' crimes: The 2nd-degree murder Feb. 21, 2003, of Alfred Jake on the
Navajo Reservation in McKinley County, New Mexico, as well as using, carrying
and possessing a firearm (a Remington .243) in connection with that crime.
Laurel has been serving a lengthy sentence (294 months) for being part of a
cocaine distribution conspiracy in Tennessee involving more than 5 kilograms of
cocaine. Laurel also has gotten in trouble behind bars for committing assault
with serious injury, which added more time to his sentence; possessing weapons;
using drugs or alcohol; and destroying property, according to court records.
Owle's crimes include robbery by force or violence and using, carrying and
discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, May 26, 2008, on the Eastern
Band of Cherokee Indian Reservation in North Carolina. Owle also has gotten
into trouble behind bars previously for assaulting a corrections officer and
another inmate and is serving a lengthy sentence.
(source: wvnews.com)
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TEXAS----executions
Texas puts Daniel Acker to death, the 2nd execution in 2 days----Acker was
convicted in the 2000 murder of his girlfriend in East Texas. Her body was
found on the side of the road after neighbors said they saw him abduct her.
For the 2nd time in 1 days, Texas carried out an execution Thursday. It was the
state's 10th execution of the year, and the 18th in the nation.
Daniel Acker, 46, was put to death in Huntsville's execution chamber hours
after the U.S. Supreme Court denied his last appeal, just 24 hours after
another man, Troy Clark, died by lethal injection in the same spot.
Acker was sentenced to death in the 2000 East Texas murder of his girlfriend,
32-year-old Marquetta George. Her body was found on the side of the road
several miles away from the trailer they shared in Hopkins County after their
neighbors said they saw Acker grab her, toss her over his shoulder and shove
her into his truck, according to court records. Acker had maintained that he
was taking her to confront a man she had slept with and she jumped from his
moving vehicle.
With all appeals exhausted, Acker was injected with a lethal dose of
pentobarbital shortly after 6 p.m. and pronounced dead at 6:25 p.m., according
to the prison department. He gave no final statement.
George's brother attended the execution, according to a prison witness list.
Acker had no friends or family present at the time of his death.
Both Acker and the state agreed that he kidnapped his girlfriend during a fight
on March 12, 2000. The 2 had argued at a club the night before, and he spent
the night searching for her around town, he testified at trial. Shortly after a
man brought her home the next morning, she ran to her neighbor's home asking
for help, and Acker took her away in his truck.
But there are multiple theories as to what happened between George’s abduction
and her severely wounded body being found on the side of the road. At Acker’s
trial in 2001, the state told the jury that George died by strangulation, blunt
force injuries or both, court records show. The state's main theory was that
Acker strangled George to or near death, pulled her out of his truck and then
ran her over.
But during an appellate hearing, the state’s own expert said George's injuries
weren't consistent with strangulation, and the theory arose that Acker pushed
her from the truck and then ran over her. The federal judge who took over the
case after the hearing wrote in a later opinion that the evidence pointed to
her having been "unconscious or incapacitated" when pulled from the truck and
then run over by Acker.
Acker's attorney argued that the change of theory necessitated a new look at
his case. He said in a filing last year that his conviction and death sentence
were upheld "based on false evidence, a now-discredited theory, and a new
theory never presented to his jury."
"There are now serious doubts as to whether this case was a homicide at all,"
wrote Acker's attorney, Richard Ellis, in a recent filing to the Texas Court of
Criminal Appeals. "Mr. Acker was tried and convicted on the theory that he had
abducted the victim Marquetta George and then strangled her while driving, a
theory that the State has now disavowed in federal court."
But despite the shifting primary theory, federal and state courts upheld
Acker's murder conviction, saying the indictment and jury charge allowed the
jury to decide George was killed by blunt force injuries alone, even if much of
the evidence presented - including autopsy testimony - focused on
strangulation.
"The district court found that the jury could have convicted Acker based on a
theory of strangulation, a theory of blunt-force injury, or a combination of
the 2," wrote the federal appellate court in its opinion upholding the lower
court's ruling. "... Although the prosecution referred to strangulation in
closing argument, the same argument could easily apply to running over George,
regardless of whether she had been strangled."
Acker turned himself in after George's death - he flagged down a patrol car as
it passed by his mother's house, according to court documents. His attorney
wrote that he has admitted to her kidnapping and has expressed remorse for that
but that George's death was "a tragic accident, and never a homicide."
The state, represented by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his office,
said in its last briefing filed Tuesday at the U.S. Supreme Court that Acker
has already failed to persuade the courts - and the jury - of this claim.
"Acker produces no new evidence showing he did not commit the crime but
continues to assert that George’s death resulted from her leap from the vehicle
- a theory rejected by the jury at the time of trial," wrote Assistant Attorney
General Ellen Stewart-Klein.
(source: Texas Tribune)
**********************
Texas man put to death in state's 2nd execution in 2 nights
The whole thing started with a fight at the Bustin' Loose nightclub. It was a
late night, with lots of booze - and whispers of another man involved.
When it was all said and done, Marquetta George ended up dead and bloodied on
the side of the road. 18 years later, on Thursday night, her former boyfriend
Daniel Acker was put to death for her murder.
He always maintained his innocence but gave no final statement. He took one
deep breath and kept his eyes closed the entire time, according to Texas prison
officials.
The 46-year-old was pronounced dead at 6:25 p.m., 14 minutes after the lethal
dose began.
(sources: Houston Chronicle)
********************************
Texas Death Row Inmate Troy Clark Executed, Last Words Revealed
A Texas man was put to death on Sept. 26 for the torture and killing of a woman
in May 1998, according to reports.
The Associated Press reported that Troy Clark, a drug dealer, denied killing
Christina Muse before his execution. He laughed as he talked to several friends
who were watching the execution from a window, telling them that he loved them
and "it's all good."
"I'm not the one who killed Christina," he also said. "But, hey, whatever makes
you happy."
As a lethal dose of pentobarbital was administered, he kept laughing and said
the drug "burned." He added: "I feel it" before officials pronounced him dead
21 minutes later.
Margaret Bouman, the aunt of Muse, saw the execution and said: "I'm a Christian
and the death penalty and accepting it was very, very difficult for me."
"But I also believe the law of the land is important," she said, adding that
Clark's demeanor during the execution was disturbing.
According to the Texas Tribune, Clark had been accused by prosecutors of 2
other murders and several other crimes. Prosecutors said that he beat and
drowned Muse before putting her remains in a barrel filled with concrete.
During the trial's punishment phase, Clark stated: "I really ain't got no story
to tell. It's just I want the death penalty," AP reported.
(source: The Epoch Times)
*************************
Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present----37
Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982----present-----555
Abbott#--------scheduled execution date-----name------------Tx. #
38---------Oct. 10----------------Juan Segundo------------556
39---------Oct. 24----------------Kwame Rockwell----------557
40---------Nov. 7-----------------Emanuel Kemp, Jr.-------558
41---------Nov. 14----------------Robert Ramos------------559
42---------Dec. 4-----------------Joseph Garcia-----------560
43---------Dec. 11----------------Alvin Braziel-----------561
44---------Jan. 15----------------Blaine Milam------------562
45---------Jan. 30----------------Robert Jennings---------563
(sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin)
VIRGINIA:
Jury hears closing arguments in trial for slain officer
Defense lawyers for an Army staff sergeant accused of killing his wife and a
police officer on her 1st shift pleaded with a jury to convict their client on
a charge other than capital murder.
A jury heard closing arguments Tuesday in the death penalty trial of Ronald
Hamilton, 34, of Woodbridge, who is charged with capital murder and other
counts in the February 2016 fatal shootings of Crystal Hamilton and Officer
Ashley Guindon.
He is also charged with attempted capital murder of two police officers who
survived the shooting, Jesse Hempen and David McKeown.
During 2 weeks of testimony, jurors heard evidence that Crystal Hamilton called
911 after her husband struck her and slammed her to the floor. Jurors heard the
911 call which ended with Crystal Hamilton pleading, "Stop!" Prosecutors say
Ronald Hamilton shot his wife four times with a Glock handgun.
Several officers responded to the 911 call. The officers tried to enter the
house to check on Crystal Hamilton's welfare, but Ronald Hamilton refused to
let them in. One of the officers then kicked open the front door, only to find
Hamilton crouched with an AK-47 rifle opening fire. All 3 officers who
initially responded to the home were struck, including Guindon, who had just
been sworn in as an officer. Hempen and McKeown, who testified at the trial,
survived but suffered serious injuries.
Gene Hart, one of Hamilton's public defenders, acknowledged to the jury during
Tuesday's closing arguments that Hamilton is guilty of the slayings. But he
argued that the killings lacked the premeditation necessary for a
capital-murder conviction and possible death penalty. Instead, he urged the
jury to convict on lesser charges of either second-degree murder or voluntary
manslaughter, saying Hamilton was acting in the heat of passion.
"The government has to prove to you - what was Ronald Hamilton's intent? What
were his thoughts? It is getting inside the mind of the defendant," Hart said.
Prosecutor Richard Conway said the most obvious evidence of premeditation is
the fact that Hamilton selected a Glock handgun to shoot his wife, and then
upgraded to a more powerful AK-47 rifle in preparation for the anticipated
police response.
"A .45 Glock, that's just not going to do it when the police arrive," Conway
said.
While prosecutors presented an overwhelming amount of evidence, they were
hamstrung by a ruling that barred them from presenting expert testimony like
DNA and ballistics evidence or the conclusions of the medical examiner's
report.
The judge barred the testimony after prosecutors missed a deadline requiring
advance notice to the defense of such experts.
Hart sought to capitalize on that during closing arguments, noting the lack of
DNA and fingerprint evidence and suggesting that prosecutors should have been
more thorough in a potential death-penalty case.
"The failure to provide readily available evidence is just startling," Hart
said.
Conway told jurors their obligation was to decide the case on the evidence that
was in front of them as opposed to "speculating on what else might be out
there."
If convicted of capital murder, prosecutors will seek the death penalty during
the trial's sentencing phase. A sentencing phase would likely involve several
weeks of testimony, and jurors would choose one of two options: execution or
life in prison.
(source: Associated Press)
FLORIDA:
Parkland Shooter Due in Court Facing Death Penalty
The young man accused of going on a deadly shooting rampage in Parkland,
Florida will be back in court Wednesday.
19-year-old Nikolas Cruz is facing the death penalty, charged with killing 17
people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February.
Officials say a number of issues could come up at Wednesday's status hearing
including the release of evidence and witness interviews.
Defense lawyers say Cruz is willing to plead guilty to the murders if he could
dodge the death penalty in exchange for life in prison.
But prosecutors are rejecting the plea.
(source: 9and10news.com)
ALABAMA----new death sentence
Ala. jury recommends death for Dearman----Leakesville native found guilty of
mass killing near Citronelle
Editor's Note: The following was produced with permission from reports by
reporter Mark R. Kent of the Call-News newspaper in Citronelle. Readers are
advised that it contains disturbing details from testimony.
A Mobile County jury has recommended a Greene County man be sentenced to death
for one of Alabama's most gruesome mass murders.
It took a Mobile County jury 65 minutes to find Leakesville resident Derrick
Dearman guilty of capital murder last Thursday and recommended he be sentenced
to die by lethal injection.
The sentence came after a week of testimony in Mobile County Circuit Judge Rick
Stout's courtroom. Stout will formally sentence Dearman on Oct. 12.
Dearman, now 30, acted as his own attorney during the four days of testimony
and deliberation. Earlier this month, Dearman entered pleas of guilty to 10
counts of capital murder. Despite his admittance of guilt in the killing of 5
people who had once considered him to have been a friend, Alabama law required
the case to go to trial and be presented in full detail because of the death
penalty consideration. He showed little emotion when the jury's decision was
read aloud.
"Death penalty cases are always difficult, but we believe the jury's verdict
was the appropriate verdict," Mobile County District Attorney Ashley Rich said.
"What the defendant did was barbaric, it was unconscionable, and what made it
more unconscionable is that he knew exactly what he was doing. He wanted to do
it."
"And then he came in here and during the entire trial, he never showed any
emotion."
The actions Dearman is likely to pay for with his life occurred over 2 years
ago in the pre-dawn hours of Aug. 20, 2016. That is when Dearman admits forcing
his way into a home west of Citronelle on Jim Platt Road. After making his way
inside, Dearman went on an unspeakably savage rampage. By the time he left the
house, there were 5 people dead after Dearman attacked them repeatedly with an
ax before using a handgun and shotgun, belonging to the victims, to shoot them
in an effort to confirm their deaths.
Victims in the case included Robert Lee Brown, Joseph Adam Turner, Shannon
Melissa Randall, Justin Kaleb Reed and Chelsea Marie Reed, who was pregnant at
the time.
The only adult to survive the deadly event was Dearman's off-again, on-again
girlfriend, Laneta Lester, who was staying at the home as Turner was Lester's
brother. Turner and Randall's 3-month-old son was also in the house as the
killings unfolded but was spared from the attacks.
During testimony, Lester told of grabbing the child during Dearman's rampage in
an effort to protect the infant from the attacks. Dearman reportedly spared the
lives of Lester and the infant but forced them to leave the scene with him in a
vehicle belonging to one of the victims.
Lester testified that Dearman drove them around southeast Mississippi for hours
before arriving at the home of Dearman's father in Leakesville. Lester said
while the father was making an effort to convince Dearman to turn himself in,
she was able to drive away from the house and make her way back to Citronelle
to report the crime. Dearman turned himself in to authorities at the Greene
County Sheriff's Office.
Dr. Staci Turner of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, who performed
autopsies on 3 of the victims and certified the autopsies of the other 2,
testified that all 5 of the victims were struck repeatedly, mostly in the head
and face, with the ax Dearman confirmed he found outside the house before he
burst inside.
Despite the fact all were badly wounded and in great pain, Turner testified,
the victims continued to resist Dearman's attacks including Justin Reed who
tried to defend himself with a handgun. Dearman was able to wrestle the
.45-caliber pistol away from Justin Reed and used it to fatally shoot him and 3
of the other victims.
According to testimony presented at trial, after Dearman fired all of the
rounds in the handgun he picked up a 12-gauge shotgun he found in the home and
used it to shoot Randall.
A particularly striking sight occurred on the trial's 1st day when a Mobile
County Sheriff's Office video of the crime scene showed the victims dead in the
home where they fell.
Brown, 26, lay dead by the front door, while the Reeds, both 23, lay in the 2nd
bedroom. In the master bedroom, Turner, 27, and Randall, 36, lay dead.
As the soundless, 11-minute film clip played, every eye in the court appeared
to follow the slow walk the MCSO videographer took though the house - every set
of eyes, that is, except Derrick Dearman, who looked away, head down, from a
computer screen just to his left on the defendant's table.
Throughout the trial, Dearman acted as his own attorney and freely admitted the
murders were portrayed in the trial exactly as he committed them.
"Everything the district attorney has said is true," Dearman said.
Lester testified that on the Wednesday before the killings, Dearman and Joseph
Turner got together at Jim Platt Road to chop up an old trailer so that Dearman
could sell it for scrap. That night, she said, Dearman spent the night with
Lester at the home. The next day, Randall, who owned the home along with
Turner, told Dearman he couldn’t stay, so Lester had Turner take her back to a
home in Lucedale where they were staying at the time.
That night, she testified, Dearman beat her again, and she called her brother
and asked him to take her back to the home on Jim Platt Road. That Friday
night, Dearman made multiple appearances at the home but was continually asked
to leave, she said.
Detective Nick King, then with the Citronelle Police Department, testified that
he was dispatched to the home about 12:40 a.m. Aug. 20 for a trespassing
complaint regarding Dearman.
Lester testified she felt a tap on her shoulder later that morning as Dearman
reached in through a living room window to awaken her. She stated that Dearman
begged for a cigarette and something to drink, when she told him no and that he
needed to leave, she said Dearman became angry. Lester said she refused to go
outside and went back to sleep, but was awakened again, this time by the sounds
of gunfire.
During his defense presentation in the penalty phase, Dearman put both his
parents, Sonja and Gary Dearman, on the stand.
"I take full responsibility for how he was raised," Gary Dearman said during
his testimony.
Several other family members and friends spoke, mostly about the defendant's
years growing up, and occasionally making reference to his getting involved
with drugs.
Dearman himself also testified.
"The state presented evidence and there is nothing I can do to make it right,"
he said during a brief statement. "It doesn't mean I don't try. I put my
mitigation on behalf of my family."
(source: greenecountyheraldonline.com)
ILLINOIS:
Rauner doubles down on call to reinstate death penalty
Illinois hasn't executed anyone since 1999, but Gov. Bruce Rauner is once again
pushing to bring back the death penalty.
The governor told officers at a ceremony Tuesday for murdered Chicago Police
Cmdr. Paul Bauer that people who kill cops should be put to death.
"That is what is right. That is what is just," Rauner said. "Our police
officers put themselves at risk to protect us. And we must protect you."
The governor first talked about reinstating the death penalty back in the
spring, but the idea failed to gain traction with lawmakers.
"I call again on the members of the General Assembly to join with me and
reinstate the death penalty for anyone convicted beyond any doubt of killing a
police officer," Rauner said.
Former Gov. George Ryan emptied Illinois' death row in 2000 after a series of
wrongful convictions. Lawmakers abolished the death penalty in 2011.
(source: Illinois News Network)
OKLAHOMA:
Death row inmate weds undertaker 34 years his junior
An apprentice undertaker was due to marry a death row inmate 34 years her
senior who has survived an appointment with an executioner and is awaiting
another.
Leigha Jurasik, 21, has not had any physical contact with Richard Glossip as
the couple have always been separated by bars and thick glass on jail visits.
However, after the ceremony in Oklahoma yesterday they were due to be allowed
30 minutes together, overseen by prison guards.
Glossip was sentenced to death for arranging the murder in 1997 of Barry Van
Treese, the owner of an Oklahoma City motel that Glossip was managing.
He maintains his innocence and was found guilty on the basis of the account of
a maintenance man, who confessed to the killing but escaped.
(source: The Times)
CALIFORNIA:
Suspect in DTLA homeless attacks charged with 3 murders, 5 attempted murders
The suspect in a series of vicious attacks on homeless men in LA has been
charged with 3 counts of murder and 5 counts of attempted murder, officials
said Wednesday.
Ramon Alberto Escobar, 47, has been accused of a series of attacks on men, most
of them homeless, while they were sleeping in downtown Los Angeles and Santa
Monica. 3 of the men died.
Officials have said the motive for the attacks was robbery. He is also being
charged with 4 counts of 2nd-degree robbery.
If convicted, Escobar is eligible for the death penalty. He also could face a
possible maximum sentence of life in prison without parole. The District
Attorney's Office said it will decide later whether to seek the death penalty.
Escobar has also been linked to the disappearance of his own aunt and uncle
from the Houston area.
He appeared briefly in a Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday afternoon. Cameras
were not allowed to show his face out of concerns it could influence the jury
in his upcoming case. A plea was not entered and he is expected back in court
for an arraignment on Nov. 8
Escobar was arrested Monday after another attack on a man sleeping on the beach
in Santa Monica.
Police officials call him a "violent predator."
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said Tuesday night that
Escobar had been deported six times from the United States. He was first
ordered removed from the United States by a federal immigration judge in
February 1988.
He was then removed to El Salvador 6 times from 1997 to 2011. He also has 6
felony convictions for burglary and illegal reentry.
According to an ICE statement: "After illegally reentering the U.S. following
his most-recent removal Alberto-Escobar filed an appeal of his immigration case
with the Board of Immigration Appeals in June 2016, which the courts granted in
December 2016. ICE released him from custody on an Order of Supervision in
January 2017 pursuant to the court's decision."
ICE has now filed a detainer against Escobar following Monday's arrest. A
detainer indicates the agency would like to take a person into custody if he or
she is released from the custody of another law enforcement agency.
ESCOBAR'S ALLEGED VICTIMS:
The court complaint filed by the Los Angeles County DA's office details the
names of the alleged victims of Escobar's attacks:
Alleged murder victims: Branden Ridout, Kelvin Williams, Steven Cruze.
Alleged attempted murder victims: Tievon Harmon, Willliam Rivera, Khiry Elijah
Clark, Juan Antonio Ramirez, Jorge Martinez.
The complaint says all of the attempted-murder victims were left comatose, with
brain injury and paralysis, after the attacks.
Most of the victims have been identified as homeless. Cruze's family said the
San Gabriel man was not homeless. He was a father of 2 who worked two jobs and
sometimes slept under the Santa Monica pier after fishing. His family has
started a GoFundMe page to help pay for funeral expenses.
Corwyn McKinney said he was best friends with Kelvin Williams. McKinney told
Eyewitness News they grew up together in St. Louis and both were homeless
together in Los Angeles.
He said he's still trying to process his friend's death and the anger he feels
toward Escobar, wondering if he'll ever find it in his heart to forgive.
"For him to take the time to prey on these people who were in these secluded
spots for their own safety - he's a monster," McKinney said. "He's a monster.
He's a real boogeyman, he really is."
(source: KABC News)
USA:
U.S. District Judge Keeley: Death penalty jurors to fill out questionnaires at
home
Potential jurors in a death penalty case involving 2 U.S. Penitentiary Hazelton
prisoners set for spring 2020 will fill out jury questionnaires at home, Senior
U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley ruled Tuesday.
During a status conference in the case of defendants Michael A. Owle, 29, of
Cherokee, North Carolina, and Ruben Laurel, 39, of San Antonio, Texas, Keeley
said because the federal courthouse in Clarksburg is too small to accommodate
the 300 person jury pool needed for the trial, the questionnaires will be
mailed to selected individuals in Harrison, Braxton, Calhoun, Doddridge,
Gilmer, Pleasants, Marion, Monongalia, Preston, Ritchie and Taylor counties.
The questionnaire process is expected to take around 15 days to complete,
Keeley said.
Keeley has previous ruled jury selection will begin March 16, 2020, with time
set aside between April 6-30, 2020 for the trial. The lawyers believe it could
take up to 10 days to seat a jury, a week or more for the trial and then
possibly twice that long for a separate trial - if necessary - on whether the
death penalty should be imposed.
Although Keeley has presided over such prosecutions before, none has reached
trial with the death penalty still on the table.
Owle and Laurel were indicted May 1 on charges of aiding and abetting
1st-degree murder and of assault with a dangerous weapon.
They're accused in the alleged Aug. 29, 2012, stabbing death of fellow Hazelton
inmate Anthony Morris Dallas, 31, as well as the stabbing of another inmate.
Dallas, who was 31 at the time of his death, was serving a total sentence of 55
years imposed in 2004 by Senior U.S. District Judge James A. Parker.
Dallas' crimes: The 2nd-degree murder Feb. 21, 2003, of Alfred Jake on the
Navajo Reservation in McKinley County, New Mexico, as well as using, carrying
and possessing a firearm (a Remington .243) in connection with that crime.
Laurel has been serving a lengthy sentence (294 months) for being part of a
cocaine distribution conspiracy in Tennessee involving more than 5 kilograms of
cocaine. Laurel also has gotten in trouble behind bars for committing assault
with serious injury, which added more time to his sentence; possessing weapons;
using drugs or alcohol; and destroying property, according to court records.
Owle's crimes include robbery by force or violence and using, carrying and
discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, May 26, 2008, on the Eastern
Band of Cherokee Indian Reservation in North Carolina. Owle also has gotten
into trouble behind bars previously for assaulting a corrections officer and
another inmate and is serving a lengthy sentence.
(source: wvnews.com)
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