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Question of the Day: Do you think Bafana Bafana will win tonight?
The US Executions / Death Row Thread
- Thread starter LazyLion
- Start date
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
US SUPREME COURT STAYS MISSOURI INMATE'S EXECUTION
By JIM SALTER
Associated Press
The U.S. Supreme Court has stayed the scheduled execution of a Missouri man who was convicted of killing a woman and her two children in 1998.
The high court late Tuesday sided with Mark Christeson who claimed that his previous attorneys were inadequate.
Among other things, those attorneys missed a 2005 deadline for a federal court appeal of Christeson's conviction and death sentence.
He had been scheduled to die at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.
Missouri Department of Corrections spokesman Mike O'Connell says the execution will not take place Wednesday and that no new date has been set.
Messages seeking comment from Christeson's lawyers were not returned late Tuesday.
Christeson would have been the ninth person executed by Missouri this year.
Source : Sapa-AP /gm
Date : 30 Oct 2014 06:04
By JIM SALTER
Associated Press
The U.S. Supreme Court has stayed the scheduled execution of a Missouri man who was convicted of killing a woman and her two children in 1998.
The high court late Tuesday sided with Mark Christeson who claimed that his previous attorneys were inadequate.
Among other things, those attorneys missed a 2005 deadline for a federal court appeal of Christeson's conviction and death sentence.
He had been scheduled to die at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.
Missouri Department of Corrections spokesman Mike O'Connell says the execution will not take place Wednesday and that no new date has been set.
Messages seeking comment from Christeson's lawyers were not returned late Tuesday.
Christeson would have been the ninth person executed by Missouri this year.
Source : Sapa-AP /gm
Date : 30 Oct 2014 06:04
I still believe those 3 men, boys at the time, are innocent. I can't remember the name they gave them, but there were 3 young boys killed at the time and they found the bodies in the creek or lake or something. the 3 boys that they arrested and charged at the time weren't very bright and that's how they were able to get away with their disgusting charge against them. they were released some years later after they took some oath of sorts.
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
INMATE DESCRIBED AS DELUSIONAL GETS EXECUTION DATE
By MICHAEL GRACZYK
Associated Press
A Texas death row inmate whose attorneys contend he is so delusional that he can't understand why he was convicted and condemned has been scheduled for execution.
Scott Panetti, 56, was set for lethal injection on Dec. 3, according to a judge's order received this week by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which carries out executions.
Panetti has a history of mental problems and his case has been to the U.S. Supreme Court at least three times. The most recent was early this month when the justices refused to review his latest appeal. State attorneys have argued he exaggerates some of his symptoms to avoid execution.
Panetti was convicted of fatally shooting his in-laws, Joe and Amanda Alvarado, in their home 22 years ago in front of his estranged wife and young children. His wife was living with her parents and a week earlier had obtained a court order to keep Panetti away.
His trial judge assigned Panetti a standby attorney after he chose to be his own lawyer at his 1995 trial, where he wore a purple cowboy outfit, flipped a coin to select a juror and wanted to subpoena Jesus Christ and John F. Kennedy as witnesses. He insisted only an insane person could prove insanity.
"Scott Panetti is not competent for execution and therefore his execution would serve no retributive purpose," his appeals attorney, Greg Wiercioch, said Thursday. "It is unfortunate that an execution date has been set.
"He has a fixed delusion that Satan, working through the state of Texas, is seeking to execute him for preaching the Gospel. His execution would be a miserable spectacle."
A day before he was to die in 2007, the Supreme Court stopped Panetti's scheduled execution for further review by lower courts.
Source : Sapa-AP /gm
Date : 31 Oct 2014 03:36
By MICHAEL GRACZYK
Associated Press
A Texas death row inmate whose attorneys contend he is so delusional that he can't understand why he was convicted and condemned has been scheduled for execution.
Scott Panetti, 56, was set for lethal injection on Dec. 3, according to a judge's order received this week by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which carries out executions.
Panetti has a history of mental problems and his case has been to the U.S. Supreme Court at least three times. The most recent was early this month when the justices refused to review his latest appeal. State attorneys have argued he exaggerates some of his symptoms to avoid execution.
Panetti was convicted of fatally shooting his in-laws, Joe and Amanda Alvarado, in their home 22 years ago in front of his estranged wife and young children. His wife was living with her parents and a week earlier had obtained a court order to keep Panetti away.
His trial judge assigned Panetti a standby attorney after he chose to be his own lawyer at his 1995 trial, where he wore a purple cowboy outfit, flipped a coin to select a juror and wanted to subpoena Jesus Christ and John F. Kennedy as witnesses. He insisted only an insane person could prove insanity.
"Scott Panetti is not competent for execution and therefore his execution would serve no retributive purpose," his appeals attorney, Greg Wiercioch, said Thursday. "It is unfortunate that an execution date has been set.
"He has a fixed delusion that Satan, working through the state of Texas, is seeking to execute him for preaching the Gospel. His execution would be a miserable spectacle."
A day before he was to die in 2007, the Supreme Court stopped Panetti's scheduled execution for further review by lower courts.
Source : Sapa-AP /gm
Date : 31 Oct 2014 03:36
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
FLORIDA MAN EXECUTED FOR STEPDAUGHTER'S SLAYING
by Jason Dearen
A Florida man who fatally shot his sleeping wife and then raped and killed his young stepdaughter 22 years ago was put to death Thursday for the child's slaying.
Chadwick Banks, 43, was pronounced dead at 7:27 p.m. EST Thursday after a lethal injection at Florida State Prison, the office of Gov. Rick Scott said.
Banks was condemned for the 1992 killing of 10-year-old Melody Cooper. Banks also received a life sentence for the murder of his wife, Cassandra Banks, in the attack in Florida.
Banks wore the white skullcap of the Muslim Brotherhood before the lethal drugs were administered, looking directly at the family of the victims when he delivered his final statement.
"I'm very sorry for the hurt and pain I have caused you all of these years," Banks said. "Year after year I have tried to come up with a reasonable answer for my actions. But how could such acts be reasonable?"
Authorities said Banks was drinking and playing pool at a bar before going home around 3 a.m. the night of the slayings. Banks shot his wife point-blank in the head and then raped and shot his stepdaughter, according to authorities.
Banks, who was 21 at the time of the killings, received a life sentence for his wife's murder, and a jury recommended the death penalty for the stepdaughter's slaying.
The mother and grandmother of the two victims, Annette Black, said after the execution that she appreciated Banks' apology and said she hoped his case would serve as a lesson to people before they make bad decisions while using alcohol or drugs.
The execution was the eighth in Florida this year and the 20th since Gov. Rick Scott took office in 2011. That's one fewer than under Gov. Jeb Bush during both of his terms. Bush presided over the most executions since capital punishment was reinstated in the state in 1979, but Scott was just re-elected to a second term.
Banks ordered a last meal of fried fish, French fries, hush puppies, banana pudding and ice cream, said spokeswoman Jessica Cary with the Florida Department of Corrections. Fourteen family members visited him and he spent time with a spiritual adviser.
Florida uses a three-drug mixture to execute prisoners: midazolam hydrochloride, vecuronium bromide and potassium chloride. The drugs are administered intravenously and are intended to first induce unconsciousness, then paralysis and finally cardiac arrest.
Source : Sapa-AP /mm
Date : 14 Nov 2014 04:57
by Jason Dearen
A Florida man who fatally shot his sleeping wife and then raped and killed his young stepdaughter 22 years ago was put to death Thursday for the child's slaying.
Chadwick Banks, 43, was pronounced dead at 7:27 p.m. EST Thursday after a lethal injection at Florida State Prison, the office of Gov. Rick Scott said.
Banks was condemned for the 1992 killing of 10-year-old Melody Cooper. Banks also received a life sentence for the murder of his wife, Cassandra Banks, in the attack in Florida.
Banks wore the white skullcap of the Muslim Brotherhood before the lethal drugs were administered, looking directly at the family of the victims when he delivered his final statement.
"I'm very sorry for the hurt and pain I have caused you all of these years," Banks said. "Year after year I have tried to come up with a reasonable answer for my actions. But how could such acts be reasonable?"
Authorities said Banks was drinking and playing pool at a bar before going home around 3 a.m. the night of the slayings. Banks shot his wife point-blank in the head and then raped and shot his stepdaughter, according to authorities.
Banks, who was 21 at the time of the killings, received a life sentence for his wife's murder, and a jury recommended the death penalty for the stepdaughter's slaying.
The mother and grandmother of the two victims, Annette Black, said after the execution that she appreciated Banks' apology and said she hoped his case would serve as a lesson to people before they make bad decisions while using alcohol or drugs.
The execution was the eighth in Florida this year and the 20th since Gov. Rick Scott took office in 2011. That's one fewer than under Gov. Jeb Bush during both of his terms. Bush presided over the most executions since capital punishment was reinstated in the state in 1979, but Scott was just re-elected to a second term.
Banks ordered a last meal of fried fish, French fries, hush puppies, banana pudding and ice cream, said spokeswoman Jessica Cary with the Florida Department of Corrections. Fourteen family members visited him and he spent time with a spiritual adviser.
Florida uses a three-drug mixture to execute prisoners: midazolam hydrochloride, vecuronium bromide and potassium chloride. The drugs are administered intravenously and are intended to first induce unconsciousness, then paralysis and finally cardiac arrest.
Source : Sapa-AP /mm
Date : 14 Nov 2014 04:57
Jet-Fighter7700
Honorary Master
not that familiar with the states,
how does it work with juries? is there special juries for death row inmates?
or is it all randomly chosen and technically its possible for one person to serve twice in a death row case.....
cant imagine what that's like to actually have a hand in executing somebody, indirectly sure but still
how many times have they made mistakes in the sentencing of death row prisoners.....
maybe they could remedy that by having the same jury come together again to confirm the death sentence,
seeing as its something that took place so long ago....
Tot siens !
Afaik. the juries are exactly the same, they are there to find defendant guilty or not guilty, and if guilty can only recommend a penalty of death.
Sentencing or the final decision is done strictly by the judge.
Why should that change the verdict if the facts don't change.
He did live 22 years more than the victims.
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
JUSTICES REJECT CONDEMNED MISSOURI INMATE'S APPEAL
By BRETT BARROUQUERE
Associated Press
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a bid by Missouri inmate Leon Taylor to halt his execution just hours before the he was scheduled to be put to death.
The court rejected two appeals without comment, although justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan would have voted to take the case.
Taylor, 56, is scheduled to die early Wednesday for killing gas station attendant Robert Newton in suburban Kansas City in 1994 in front of Newton's 8-year-old stepdaughter. Taylor would be the ninth man put to death in Missouri this year and the 11th since November 2013.
The appeal notes Taylor's original jury deadlocked and a judge sentenced him to death. When that was thrown out, an all-white jury condemned Taylor, who is black, to death.
Source : Sapa-AP /nsm
Date : 19 Nov 2014 05:19
By BRETT BARROUQUERE
Associated Press
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a bid by Missouri inmate Leon Taylor to halt his execution just hours before the he was scheduled to be put to death.
The court rejected two appeals without comment, although justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan would have voted to take the case.
Taylor, 56, is scheduled to die early Wednesday for killing gas station attendant Robert Newton in suburban Kansas City in 1994 in front of Newton's 8-year-old stepdaughter. Taylor would be the ninth man put to death in Missouri this year and the 11th since November 2013.
The appeal notes Taylor's original jury deadlocked and a judge sentenced him to death. When that was thrown out, an all-white jury condemned Taylor, who is black, to death.
Source : Sapa-AP /nsm
Date : 19 Nov 2014 05:19
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
TEXAS JUDGE APPROVES EXECUTION OF MENTALLY ILL MAN
A Texas judge on Wednesday refused to postpone the scheduled execution of a convicted killer who suffers from mental illness and is set to face lethal injection on December 3.
Scott Panetti, who has had schizophrenia for three decades, has won support for his case of groups such as Mental Health America, psychiatrists, former judges and prosecutors, evangelical Christians.
The European Union urged Texas Governor Rick Perry to grant Panetti clemency.
"The execution of persons suffering from a mental disorder is contrary to widely accepted human rights norms and is in contradiciton to the minimum standards of human rights set forth in several international human rights instruments," the bloc wrote in its letter.
Still, district judge Keith Williams refused to give attorneys more time to reevaluate whether Panetti was criminally responsible for the 1995 killing of his wife.
"As an obviously severely mentally ill man with schizophrenia, Mr Panetti should never have been allowed to represent himself in his death penalty case," his attorney Kathryn Kase said.
He "should not have been allowed to reject a plea deal that would have saved his life. Now, Mr Panetti must not be executed without a competency hearing.
"This is the last chance to prevent an injustice from turning into an immoral tragedy."
Though individual US states choose whether they will implement the death penalty, in 1986 the US Supreme Court barred execution of the mentally ill as cruel and unusual punishment.
Source : Sapa-AFP /nsm
Date : 20 Nov 2014 05:27
A Texas judge on Wednesday refused to postpone the scheduled execution of a convicted killer who suffers from mental illness and is set to face lethal injection on December 3.
Scott Panetti, who has had schizophrenia for three decades, has won support for his case of groups such as Mental Health America, psychiatrists, former judges and prosecutors, evangelical Christians.
The European Union urged Texas Governor Rick Perry to grant Panetti clemency.
"The execution of persons suffering from a mental disorder is contrary to widely accepted human rights norms and is in contradiciton to the minimum standards of human rights set forth in several international human rights instruments," the bloc wrote in its letter.
Still, district judge Keith Williams refused to give attorneys more time to reevaluate whether Panetti was criminally responsible for the 1995 killing of his wife.
"As an obviously severely mentally ill man with schizophrenia, Mr Panetti should never have been allowed to represent himself in his death penalty case," his attorney Kathryn Kase said.
He "should not have been allowed to reject a plea deal that would have saved his life. Now, Mr Panetti must not be executed without a competency hearing.
"This is the last chance to prevent an injustice from turning into an immoral tragedy."
Though individual US states choose whether they will implement the death penalty, in 1986 the US Supreme Court barred execution of the mentally ill as cruel and unusual punishment.
Source : Sapa-AFP /nsm
Date : 20 Nov 2014 05:27
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
US COURT HALTS EXECUTION OF DELUSIONAL INMATE
By MICHAEL GRACZYK
A federal appeals court halted Wednesday's scheduled execution of a Texas killer whose attempt to subpoena Jesus Christ as a trial witness and other behavior led his attorneys to argue he is too mentally ill for capital punishment.
Scott Panetti, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia some 14 years before fatally shooting his estranged wife's parents in 1992, was granted the reprieve less than eight hours before he was set to receive a lethal injection. In stopping the execution, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals acknowledged the legal complexity of putting a mentally ill inmate to death.
In a two-sentence ruling, the court said it needs time to "fully consider the late arriving and complex legal questions at issue in this matter" and that it will schedule briefings and hearings to consider arguments.
The Texas attorney general's office said it has no immediate plans to appeal and that state attorneys will present arguments to the 5th Circuit once the court sets a date for them.
Panetti's lawyers described him as delusional and argued that he was too mentally ill to qualify for capital punishment and they sought the delay so Panetti, 56, could undergo new competency examinations.
Panetti, who acted as his own trial lawyer, testified as an alternate personality he called "Sarge" to describe the slayings of Joe and Amanda Alvarado. He wore a purple cowboy outfit, including a big cowboy hat, during trial and largely ignored a standby attorney the judge appointed to assist him.
Appeals also were before the U.S. Supreme Court, which has said mentally ill people cannot be executed if they don't have a factual and rational understanding of why they're being punished. The high court took no action once the lower court stopped the punishment.
The Wisconsin native, who was convicted and sentenced in 1995, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1978. He had been hospitalized more than a dozen times for treatment in the decade before the shootings.
Panetti's appeals lawyers said they are grateful for the reprieve that will allow "a careful review of the issues surrounding his competency."
"Mr. Panetti has not had a competency evaluation in seven years, and we believe that today's ruling is the first step in a process which will clearly demonstrate that Mr. Panetti is too severely mentally ill to be executed," Greg Wiercioch and Kathryn Kase said in a statement.
Both visited with Panetti in prison in the past few weeks and said his mental condition had worsened.
Wiercioch said Panetti told him devices implanted in his teeth by prison system dentists were sending messages to his brain.
State attorneys said records showed no significant change since Panetti's last competency examination. During his trial and subsequent appeals, no court has found him incompetent or insane.
Panetti's estranged wife and her 3-year-old daughter had moved in with the Alvarados at their home outside San Antonio. She obtained a court order to keep Panetti away.
Enraged, he dressed in camouflage clothing and armed himself with a rifle, a sawed-off shotgun and knives. He broke into the home and shot the couple.
Source : Sapa-AP /aw
Date : 04 Dec 2014 03:35
By MICHAEL GRACZYK
A federal appeals court halted Wednesday's scheduled execution of a Texas killer whose attempt to subpoena Jesus Christ as a trial witness and other behavior led his attorneys to argue he is too mentally ill for capital punishment.
Scott Panetti, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia some 14 years before fatally shooting his estranged wife's parents in 1992, was granted the reprieve less than eight hours before he was set to receive a lethal injection. In stopping the execution, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals acknowledged the legal complexity of putting a mentally ill inmate to death.
In a two-sentence ruling, the court said it needs time to "fully consider the late arriving and complex legal questions at issue in this matter" and that it will schedule briefings and hearings to consider arguments.
The Texas attorney general's office said it has no immediate plans to appeal and that state attorneys will present arguments to the 5th Circuit once the court sets a date for them.
Panetti's lawyers described him as delusional and argued that he was too mentally ill to qualify for capital punishment and they sought the delay so Panetti, 56, could undergo new competency examinations.
Panetti, who acted as his own trial lawyer, testified as an alternate personality he called "Sarge" to describe the slayings of Joe and Amanda Alvarado. He wore a purple cowboy outfit, including a big cowboy hat, during trial and largely ignored a standby attorney the judge appointed to assist him.
Appeals also were before the U.S. Supreme Court, which has said mentally ill people cannot be executed if they don't have a factual and rational understanding of why they're being punished. The high court took no action once the lower court stopped the punishment.
The Wisconsin native, who was convicted and sentenced in 1995, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1978. He had been hospitalized more than a dozen times for treatment in the decade before the shootings.
Panetti's appeals lawyers said they are grateful for the reprieve that will allow "a careful review of the issues surrounding his competency."
"Mr. Panetti has not had a competency evaluation in seven years, and we believe that today's ruling is the first step in a process which will clearly demonstrate that Mr. Panetti is too severely mentally ill to be executed," Greg Wiercioch and Kathryn Kase said in a statement.
Both visited with Panetti in prison in the past few weeks and said his mental condition had worsened.
Wiercioch said Panetti told him devices implanted in his teeth by prison system dentists were sending messages to his brain.
State attorneys said records showed no significant change since Panetti's last competency examination. During his trial and subsequent appeals, no court has found him incompetent or insane.
Panetti's estranged wife and her 3-year-old daughter had moved in with the Alvarados at their home outside San Antonio. She obtained a court order to keep Panetti away.
Enraged, he dressed in camouflage clothing and armed himself with a rifle, a sawed-off shotgun and knives. He broke into the home and shot the couple.
Source : Sapa-AP /aw
Date : 04 Dec 2014 03:35
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
US MAN EXECUTED FOR KILLING DEPUTY AFTER ROBBERY
By KATE BRUMBACK
Associated Press
Authorities say a Georgia man has been executed for the 1995 killing of a sheriff's deputy, who was slain minutes after a convenience store robbery.
Authorities said 49-year-old Robert Wayne Holsey was declared dead at 10:51 p.m. Tuesday at the state prison in Jackson.
Holsey received the death sentence for the Dec. 17, 1995, killing of sheriff's deputy Will Robinson. A jury convicted Holsey in 1997. Prosecutors said Holsey robbed a Milledgeville convenience store and the clerk immediately called police, describing the suspect and his car.
According to court documents, Robinson pulled Holsey over minutes later and Holsey fired on the deputy as he approached the car. Robinson died of a fatal head wound.
Source : Sapa-AP /mjs
Date : 10 Dec 2014 07:33
By KATE BRUMBACK
Associated Press
Authorities say a Georgia man has been executed for the 1995 killing of a sheriff's deputy, who was slain minutes after a convenience store robbery.
Authorities said 49-year-old Robert Wayne Holsey was declared dead at 10:51 p.m. Tuesday at the state prison in Jackson.
Holsey received the death sentence for the Dec. 17, 1995, killing of sheriff's deputy Will Robinson. A jury convicted Holsey in 1997. Prosecutors said Holsey robbed a Milledgeville convenience store and the clerk immediately called police, describing the suspect and his car.
According to court documents, Robinson pulled Holsey over minutes later and Holsey fired on the deputy as he approached the car. Robinson died of a fatal head wound.
Source : Sapa-AP /mjs
Date : 10 Dec 2014 07:33
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
OKLAHOMA TO RESUME EXECUTIONS AFTER 9-MONTH DELAY
Oklahoma plans to execute a death row inmate with the same three-drug method Florida intends to use about an hour earlier.
The lethal injection set for Thursday comes after a nearly nine-month delay prompted by a botched lethal injection last spring.
Both Oklahoma and Florida plan to start the executions with midazolam. The sedative has been challenged in court as ineffective in rendering a person properly unconscious before the second and third drugs are administered.
Oklahoma has increased the amount of midazolam it uses to mirror the exact mix that Florida has used in 11 successful executions.
Charles Warner, the Oklahoma inmate scheduled to die Thursday, and three other death row inmates in the state have filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to stop their executions.
Source : Sapa-AP /aw
Date : 15 Jan 2015 08:25
Oklahoma plans to execute a death row inmate with the same three-drug method Florida intends to use about an hour earlier.
The lethal injection set for Thursday comes after a nearly nine-month delay prompted by a botched lethal injection last spring.
Both Oklahoma and Florida plan to start the executions with midazolam. The sedative has been challenged in court as ineffective in rendering a person properly unconscious before the second and third drugs are administered.
Oklahoma has increased the amount of midazolam it uses to mirror the exact mix that Florida has used in 11 successful executions.
Charles Warner, the Oklahoma inmate scheduled to die Thursday, and three other death row inmates in the state have filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to stop their executions.
Source : Sapa-AP /aw
Date : 15 Jan 2015 08:25
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
TEXAS EXECUTES MAN CONVICTED OF KILLING 3 IN SAN ANTONIO
A 41-year-old prisoner was put to death Wednesday evening for the slayings of three people during a robbery at their San Antonio home more than 21 years ago.
Arnold Prieto became the first prisoner to receive a lethal injection this year in Texas, which carried out 10 executions in 2014.
He was pronounced dead at 6:31 p.m. CST (0031 GMT), 20 minutes after a lethal dose of pentobarbital began flowing into his veins.
Asked by the warden if he had a final statement, Prieto replied: "There are no endings, only beginnings. Love y'all. See you soon."
Prieto was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to die for the fatal stabbings of Rodolfo Rodriguez, 72, his wife, Virginia, 62, and Paula Moran, their 90-year-old former nanny who lived with them. Each victim was stabbed or cut multiple times with an icepick, screwdriver or knife.
The attackers took jewelry and about $300.
Prieto and two brothers related to the Rodriguezes were arrested in suburban Dallas seven months after the September 1993 killings.
No late appeals were filed in the courts to try to halt his punishment.
Prieto spurned a plea deal for a sentence of less than life in prison if he would testify against one of his companions.
"There was a way out," one of Prieto's trial lawyers, Michael Bernard, recalled last week. "We just couldn't get there."
The slayings went unsolved until an informant's tip sent police to Carrollton, a north Dallas suburb, where a grandnephew of the slain couple implicated himself, his brother and Prieto.
Prieto was the only one of three to get the death penalty
At least a dozen other executions are scheduled in Texas in the coming months, including two next week. Last year, 10 condemned inmates received lethal injections of pentobarbital.
Source : Sapa-AP /nsm
Date : 22 Jan 2015 02:50
A 41-year-old prisoner was put to death Wednesday evening for the slayings of three people during a robbery at their San Antonio home more than 21 years ago.
Arnold Prieto became the first prisoner to receive a lethal injection this year in Texas, which carried out 10 executions in 2014.
He was pronounced dead at 6:31 p.m. CST (0031 GMT), 20 minutes after a lethal dose of pentobarbital began flowing into his veins.
Asked by the warden if he had a final statement, Prieto replied: "There are no endings, only beginnings. Love y'all. See you soon."
Prieto was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to die for the fatal stabbings of Rodolfo Rodriguez, 72, his wife, Virginia, 62, and Paula Moran, their 90-year-old former nanny who lived with them. Each victim was stabbed or cut multiple times with an icepick, screwdriver or knife.
The attackers took jewelry and about $300.
Prieto and two brothers related to the Rodriguezes were arrested in suburban Dallas seven months after the September 1993 killings.
No late appeals were filed in the courts to try to halt his punishment.
Prieto spurned a plea deal for a sentence of less than life in prison if he would testify against one of his companions.
"There was a way out," one of Prieto's trial lawyers, Michael Bernard, recalled last week. "We just couldn't get there."
The slayings went unsolved until an informant's tip sent police to Carrollton, a north Dallas suburb, where a grandnephew of the slain couple implicated himself, his brother and Prieto.
Prieto was the only one of three to get the death penalty
At least a dozen other executions are scheduled in Texas in the coming months, including two next week. Last year, 10 condemned inmates received lethal injections of pentobarbital.
Source : Sapa-AP /nsm
Date : 22 Jan 2015 02:50
Jet-Fighter7700
Honorary Master
not that I'm pro life or anything, I do believe people who done wrong need to pay for it,
but its still horrifying that some people are executed on less than concrete evidence,
I mean it shoudent happen, but does, that innocent people are behind bars,
how do they know all these people that being put to death are still guilty all those years since they were sentenced?
I mean technology changes, witnesses give different stories ect.....
maybe if they did another trial with all new evidence , not evidence form 10 years ago, and a brand new jury.
maybe the sentence might be overturned?
don't get me wrong, some of those people deserve their fate,
must be strange , serving on a jury , and sentencing somebody to death, 10 or so years ago.....
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
Ja, I agree it should only be used where the evidence is incontrovertible and undeniable.
Even in the case of admission of guilt, there should still be evidence.
Even in the case of admission of guilt, there should still be evidence.
Jet-Fighter7700
Honorary Master
Problem is sometimes its not,
Do they actually do any checking before they Poison the Guy? What if in the 99 hour they find he Innocent?
Can't go, oops sorry, my bad.....