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Two killers were
executed in February 2010. They had murdered at least 3 people.
Five killers were given a stay in
February 2010. They have murdered at least 10 people.
|
Date of scheduled execution |
State |
Victim name |
Inmate name |
Status |
|
February 2, 2010 |
Nevada |
Brian Pierce |
Robert
McConnell |
stayed |
 Robert
Lee McConnell pleaded guilty to first-degree murder with the use of
a deadly weapon, sexual assault, and first-degree kidnapping. In
doing so, he admitted that he shot and killed his ex-girlfriend’s
fiancé, Brian Pierce. In 2001, April had taken out a protective
order on McConnell and he had been arrested after violating that
order. He subsequently was fired from his job after the arrest, and
vowed to make the couple "pay...when you least expect it."
Brian was shot nine times with a handgun. Prosecutors said the final
shot, to the head, was fired at such close range that it left burns
on the victim. Then McConnell dragged Brian's body into a back
bedroom. McConnell tried to dig out some of the bullets that killed
Pierce and then stabbed him with a steak knife and placed a tape of
the movie "Fear" next to the knife that was buried to the hilt in
Brian's chest. McConnell later testified that he used special
bullets designed to cause maximum damage. McConnell then dressed in
all black and waited for his ex-girlfriend April to come home from
work. When she arrived, he cut off her clothes with a knife,
handcuffed her, raped her, and kidnapped her, forcing her to drive
to San Mateo. April escaped when they stopped at a gas station.
McConnell was later captured in San Francisco. In a subsequent
penalty hearing, the jury found three aggravators—the murder was
committed during the course of a burglary and a robbery and involved
mutilation—and determined that the aggravators were not outweighed
by any mitigating circumstances. The jury returned a death sentence
for the first-degree murder charge. McConnell had a previous
execution date for June of 2005 when he voluntarily gave up his
appeals, however he resumed his appeals less than an hour before the
execution was to be carried out. In an interview prior to the
execution date, McConnell stated that his only regret was that he
killed his ex-girlfriend's fiancé instead of killing her. "I
wouldn't play around and have feelings like I did the last time. I
wouldn't let her get away. She would be tortured and killed." There
are still appeals pending in this case and the execution is not
expected to take place on this date. |
|
Date of scheduled execution |
State |
Victim name |
Inmate name |
Status |
|
February 4, 2010 |
Ohio |
Isam Salman
Hayder
Al-Turk |
Mark Brown |
executed |
| During the
evening of January 28, 1994, Mark A. Brown was walking in the
Kimmelbrook housing projects in Youngstown, Ohio when Gary Thomas
and his nephew Allen Thomas drove by. Allen Thomas, a friend of
Brown's, had Gary Thomas stop the car and pick up Brown. The three
men proceeded to a drive-through store at the corner of Albert and
Victor Streets, where they purchased beer and wine. Upon leaving the
store, the three drove to the residence of Lisa Dotson, a relative
of Allen Thomas. En route to the Dotson residence, the three stopped
at a convenience store at the corner of Elm and New York Avenues
called the Midway Market, to buy "blunt" cigars. These "blunt"
cigars were emptied of tobacco and refilled with marijuana. Upon
their arrival at the Dotson residence the three men began to play
cards. A number of juveniles were at the house at the time including
Myzelle Arrington, Marcus Clark, and Antwaine McMeans. While the men
played cards Allen Thomas and Brown drank Thunderbird wine into
which valium had been dissolved. In addition, Brown smoked some of
the "blunt" cigars containing marijuana. While playing cards Brown
stated to Allen Thomas that he wanted to do what the characters in
"Menace to Society" had done. According to the testimony of Gary
Thomas, "Menace to Society" is a movie, at the beginning of which
some individuals enter an "Oriental store" and kill two store clerks
before leaving with the store's cash. Gary Thomas also testified
that he noticed that Brown had a gun on him while they were playing
cards. After several hours, the three men left the house and
returned to Kimmelbrooks to purchase more marijuana. After making
the purchase, the three then returned to the Midway Market to
purchase more "blunt" cigars. At about the same time as the three
men were driving towards the store, the juveniles at the Dotson
residence began walking to the store. Indeed, Marcus Clark testified
that the juveniles were leaving the store just as Brown and Allen
Thomas were entering. The Salman family had owned and operated the
Midway Market as a family business for over twenty years. On duty in
the store on January 28, 1994 were Isam Salman and Hayder Al-Turk.
Salman, at the time aged 32 and the father of seven children, was
the son of the store owner, and Al-Turk had been an employee at the
store for approximately a year. Notably, because a family member was
working on the night in question, the video surveillance cameras
inside the store were not turned on. When the three men arrived at
the store, Gary Thomas stayed in the car listening to music while
Allen Thomas and Brown went inside. Allen Thomas and Brown returned
to the vehicle but Brown then stated that he had forgotten to do
something and went back into the store. Marcus Clark testified that
he saw Brown put on a mask before re-entering the store but that
Allen Thomas remained in the vehicle. Another of the juvenilles,
Myzelle Arrington testified that both Brown and Allen Thomas
re-entered the store. Gary Thomas testified that Allen Thomas did
re-enter the store with Brown but came back out immediately. In any
event, Clark, Arrington, and Gary Thomas all testified that while
Brown was in the store they heard gunshots being fired. Brown
returned to the vehicle and when questioned by Gary Thomas about the
gunshots, Brown responded that it had just been some firecrackers
exploding. The three men then left the scene and returned to the
Dotson residence where Brown was observed wiping off his gun. In
addition, Gary Thomas testified to seeing blood on Brown's hands and
clothing. At approximately 9:55 p.m. the Youngstown Police
Department responded to a call concerning the Midway Market. Upon
arriving at the scene police officers found the bodies of Salman and
Al-Turk behind the counter inside the store. Al-Turk was found
laying on the floor and Salman was found kneeling underneath the
counter. Both victims had died from multiple gunshot wounds. Brown
was arrested on February 3, 1994 at an apartment in Warren, Ohio. At
the time of the arrest police officers recovered a 9 mm handgun
underneath some cushions on a couch. Brown was transported to the
Youngstown Police Department where he was questioned by Detectives
Maietta and McKnight. As a result of the questioning Brown made a
confession to the killing of Al-Turk but denied shooting Salman.
Subsequently, shell casings found at the store were found to have
been fired from the handgun recovered during Brown's arrest. |
|
Date of scheduled execution |
State |
Victim name |
Inmate name |
Status |
|
February 12, 2010 |
Wyoming |
Lisa Marie Kimmell, 18 |
Dale Eaton |
stayed |
 At about
noon on April 2, 1988, a fisherman found the murdered corpse of
eighteen-year-old Lisa Marie Kimmell in the North Platte River
southwest of Casper, near what is called Government Bridge. The
victim had last been seen alive at 9:08 p.m., on March 25, 1988, in
Douglas when she was stopped for a traffic violation. The crime was
not solved until 2002, when a DNA match linked Eaton, who was
incarcerated in Colorado on a felony conviction, to her murder. On
April 17, 2003, an indictment was filed charging Eaton with one
count of first degree premeditated murder, three counts of felony
murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, and first degree
sexual assault, and on June 3, 2003, the State gave notice that it
would seek the death penalty. Lisa was last seen alive at
approximately 9:08 p.m., on March 25, 1988, just east of Douglas,
Wyoming, when she was issued a speeding ticket by a Wyoming State
Trooper. That event occurred when she was en route from Denver,
Colorado, to Billings, Montana, with a planned intermediate stop in
Cody. When she did not arrive in Cody or Billings as scheduled, her
mother reported her missing and a search for her began on March 26,
1988. An autopsy was performed shortly after her body was found. It
revealed that Lisa had been dead for 36 hours or more, although it
was conceded that death may have occurred as much as three to seven
days earlier. Because her body was in the cold water of the North
Platte River, the time of death was difficult to estimate
accurately. Lisa died of internal and external bleeding, secondary
to multiple stab wounds to her chest and abdomen. In addition, a
lethal blow was delivered to Lisa‘s head shortly before she was
stabbed. That blow would have proved fatal had she not first bled to
death. Semen was found in her vagina and on the panties she was
wearing, which was the only clothing she had on when her body was
found. Samples were taken and preserved. DNA extracted from the
semen found on her panties eventually led the authorities to Eaton.
Eaton had once lived near Moneta, Wyoming, and a search of that
property uncovered various parts from Lisa Kimmell‘s automobile, as
well as the remainder of the automobile itself, buried in the
ground. At trial, two theories emerged as to how Eaton and his
victim came to be together. One, reported by a fellow inmate of
Eaton‘s at the Natrona County Jail, was that Ms. Kimmell gave Eaton
a ride to help him out. Eaton made sexual advances toward her and
Kimmell slammed on the brakes and was going to make him get out of
the car ―in the middle of nowhere.‖ Things spun out of control and
Eaton ended up subduing her, raping her, killing her, etc. This
theory was presented to the jury during the guilt/innocence phase of
the trial. [¶8] The second theory was presented by Eaton during the
sentencing phase. It came into evidence through a physician who had
examined Eaton for the purpose of preparing a mental evaluation.
Eaton reported that he returned to his home late on March 25, 1988
and observed Ms. Kimmell‘s car parked on his land. He thought there
were two people there and that he was being robbed. Eaton was in an
angry state of mind to begin with, and upon finding her there, he
got even more angry. He approached her with a gun and took her to
his makeshift home. The further details of this version suggested
that circumstances then spun out of 7 control, and Eaton ended up
raping and killing her after keeping her on his property for several
days so that he would not be alone at Easter. The
guilt/innocence phase of this case was tried to a jury on February
23, 2004 through March 15, 2004. The penalty phase lasted from March
18, 2004 until March 20, 2004. A sentencing hearing was held on May
20, 2004, and a warrant of execution was entered of record on that
date. The judgment and sentence were entered of record on June 3,
2004. The death sentence has been stayed since June 22, 2004. |
|
Date of scheduled execution |
State |
Victim name |
Inmate name |
Status |
|
February 16, 2010 |
Florida |
Margaret "Peggy" Park, 26 |
Martin
Grossman |
executed |
 Martin
Edward Grossman, then 19, and a companion, Thayne Taylor, 17, drove to a
wooded area of Pinellas County on the night of December 13, 1984, to
shoot a handgun which Grossman had recently obtained by burglarizing
a home. Grossman lived in neighboring Pasco County at his mother's
home and was on probation following a recent prison term. Wildlife
Officer Margaret Park, known as Peggy, patrolling the area in her vehicle, came upon
the two men and became suspicious. She left her vehicle with the
motor, lights, and flashers on, and took possession of Grossman's
weapon and driver's license. Grossman pleaded with her not to turn
him in as having a weapon in his possession and being outside of
Pasco County would cause him to return to prison for violation of
probation. Officer Park refused the plea, opened the driver's door
to her vehicle and picked up the radio microphone to call the
sheriff's office. Grossman then grabbed the officer's large
flashlight and struck her repeatedly on the head and shoulders,
forcing her upper body into the vehicle. Officer Park reported "I'm
hit" over the radio and screamed. Grossman continued the attack, and
called for help from Taylor, who joined in the assault. Officer Park
managed to draw her weapon, a .357 magnum, and fired a wild shot
within the vehicle. Simultaneously, she temporarily disabled Taylor
by kicking him in the groin. Grossman, who was a large man at 6'4"
and 220 pounds, wrenched
the officer's weapon away, breaking her fingers as he did so, and fired a fatal shot into the back of
her head. The spent slug exited her head in front and fell into a
drinking cup inside the vehicle. Blood stains, high velocity
splatters, the location of the spent slug, and the entry and exit
wounds show that the victim's upper body was inside the vehicle with
her face turned inward or downward at the moment she was killed.
Grossman and Taylor took back the seized handgun and driver's
license, and fled with the officer's weapon. They returned to the
Grossman home, where they told the story of the killing,
individually and collectively, to a friend who lived with the
Grossmans. The friend, Brian Hancock, and Taylor buried the two
weapons nearby. Grossman, who was covered with blood, attempted
unsuccessfully to burn his clothes and shoes which Taylor, later
disposed of in a nearby lake. Approximately a week later Grossman
and Taylor, individually and collectively, recounted the story of
the murder to another friend, Brian Allan. Approximately eleven days
after the murder, Hancock told his story to the police and Grossman
and Taylor were arrested. Taylor, upon his arrest, recounted the
story of the murder to a policeman and, later, Grossman told the
story to a jail-mate, Charles Brewer. Grossman and Taylor were tried
jointly over Grossman's objection. At trial, the state introduced
the testimony of Hancock, Allan, and Brewer against Grossman. The
state also introduced Taylor's statement to the policeman against
Taylor only. In addition, the state introduced the charred shoes,
the two weapons, prints taken from the victim's vehicle, testimony
from a neighbor who observed the attempted burning of the clothes,
Grossman's efforts to clean the Grossman van, and the changing of
the van tires. Expert testimony as to the cause of death and the
significance of blood splatter evidence was also introduced by the
state. The jury was instructed that Taylor's admissions to the
policeman could only be used against him, not Grossman. The jury was
instructed on premeditation and felony murder based on robbery,
burglary, and escape. A general verdict of first-degree murder was
returned against the Grossman and Taylor was found guilty of
third-degree murder. The judge followed the jury's twelve-to-zero
recommendation that the Grossman be sentenced to death. Taylor was
sentenced to seven years for his part in the murder and served
nearly three years in prison before being paroled into a supervised
program. UPDATE: Peggy Park's mother, Margaret, and her son and
daughter plan to witness the execution. Retired schoolteacher
Margaret Park, now 79, said Grossman's death is "long overdue. He
had very good representation all the way through. I think he's been
treated very fairly by the state of Florida. I don't take any
pleasure in an execution, but it's time. Every time something has
come up, it has been like a wave coming up and knocking you back
down, and you go over all the emotions again. We just need to have
an end to this coming back and hitting us again." Margaret said the
execution wouldn't “bring closure,” but it would “prevent him from
ever, under any circumstances being released and injuring other
people. I spent 25 years teaching kids that they had to take
responsibility for their actions,” she said. “And I think he needs
to be held accountable for what he did.” Peggy's father died in
2000. Margaret described Peggy as "the type of person who was
everyone's friend." Peggy grew up in Ohio and went to Ohio State
University, graduating with a degree in natural resources and
wildlife management in 1981. The next year she graduated from
wildlife officer training school and was assigned to Pinellas
County. The family had Peggy's body cremated and her ashes were
scatter near the eagles nests she worked to protect. A nature trail
was named for her in Pinellas County park and a memorial plaque was
installed near the place where she was murdered. |
|
February 18, 2010 |
Alabama |
Tamika Collins, 18
Nathaniel Baker, 17
Darrell Collier, 23 |
Robert
Melson |
stayed |
 In April
1994, Robert Bryant Melson fatally shot three employees and wounded
another while robbing a Popeye’s Chicken restaurant in Gadsden, Alabama,
with his accomplice, Cuhuatemoc Peraita. The crimes occurred
sometime between 11:15 P.M., when the cashier left for the night,
and 12:26 A.M., when Bryant Archer called 911. Both assailants wore
bandannas over their faces. Archer recognized Peraita as one of the
robbers because he was a recent former employee and had a
distinctive hairstyle. Archer identified the other assailant as a
black male but gave no other physical description at trial. Police
officers went to Peraita’s house and then followed Peraita’s car
when it left. At 1:20 A.M., police officers arrested Peraita and
Melson, who was driving the car. Melson at first told the police
that he had been with Peraita the entire night up until his arrest.
Two days later, Melson changed his story, claiming that Peraita
dropped him off in an area called Green Pastures around 11:50 P.M.
and picked him up again at 1:00 A.M. Melson said they then changed
clothes at Peraita’s house because they had gotten wet in the rain.
At a jury trial in April 1996, Laura Laverty testified that Melson
and Peraita were at her residence from 11:00 P.M. to 11:30 P.M. the
night in question. Melson was wearing a University of Alabama
sweatshirt, blue jeans, tennis shoes, and a hat when he left.
Laverty also stated that Melson had asked her to see if Melissa King
would provide him with an alibi. King testified that Melson wrote
her three letters from jail asking her to provide a false alibi. In
the letters, which were introduced at trial, Melson bemoaned the
fact that King was not at a place called Frankie’s the night of the
murders but urged her to say in court that she had seen him leave
there between 12:30 and 12:45 A.M. Inside Peraita’s house,
authorities found a bag of money and some clothes, including a
University of Alabama sweatshirt and blue jeans. Police also
recovered a gun thrown into the Coosa river by Peraita’s brother,
Edmundo. Plaster casts of shoeprints at the scene matched one of
Melson’s tennis shoes that he was wearing when arrested. Melson
presented one alibi witness, Tyrone Porter, 3 who testified that he
saw Melson at Frankie’s the night of the robbery between 11:00 P.M.
and midnight (even though he had no watch). Melson was found guilty
and sentenced to death for three robbery-murder convictions, life
imprisonment without the possibility of parole on a fourth capital
murder conviction, forty years in prison on an attempted murder
conviction, and forty years in prison on a first-degree robbery
conviction. |
|
Date of scheduled execution |
State |
Victim name |
Inmate name |
Status |
|
February 23, 2010 |
Georgia |
Martha
Chapman Matich, 31
Lisa Renee Chapman, 11 |
Melbert Ford |
stayed |
|
After his
relationship with 31-year-old Martha Matich broke up, Melbert Ray Ford,
Jr. began
harassing her by telephone. Two weeks prior to her death, Ford told
a friend of his that he “was going to blow her . . . brains out.”
The day before her death, Ford unsuccessfully tried to convince a
friend to drive him to the convenience store where Martha worked,
owned by her family. Ford told the friend that he planned to rob the
store and work revenge upon Martha by killing her. On March 6, 1986,
Ford talked to several people about robbing the store. He told one
that he intended to kidnap Martha, take her into the woods, make her
beg, and then shoot her in the forehead. Ford tried to talk another
into helping him with his robbery (Ford had no car). When this
effort failed, Ford responded that “there wasn’t anybody crazy
around here anymore.” Finally, Ford met 19-year-old Roger Turner,
who was out of a job and nearly out of money. By plying him with
alcohol, and promising him that they could easily acquire eight
thousand dollars, Ford persuaded Turner to help him. They drove in
Turner’s car to Chapman’s Grocery, arriving just after closing time.
Ford shot away the lower half of the locked and barred glass door
and entered the store. Turner, waiting in the car, heard screams and
gunshots. Then Ford ran from the store to the car, carrying a bag of
money. At 10:20 p.m., the store’s burglar alarm sounded. A Newton
County sheriff’s deputy arrived at 10:27 p.m. Martha Matich was
lying dead behind the counter, shot three times. Martha's
11-year-old niece Lisa Chapman was discovered in the bathroom, shot
in the head but still alive, sitting on a bucket, bleeding from the
head, and having convulsions. She could answer no questions. She
died later. Ford and Turner were arrested the next day. Turner
confessed first and was brought into Ford’s interrogation room to
state to Ford that he had told the truth. Ford told him not to
worry, that Turner was not involved in the murders. Afterwards, Ford
told his interrogators that the shooting began after Martha Matich
pushed the alarm button. He stated that, had he worn a mask, it
would not have happened. Ford claimed at trial that he was too drunk
to know what was happening, and that it was Turner who entered the
store and killed the victims. A Newton County, Georgia, grand jury
indicted Ford for malice murder and felony murder of Lisa Chapman,
malice murder and felony murder of Martha Chapman Matich, armed
robbery, possession of a firearm during commission of a felony, and
burglary. Following trial in October 1986, the jury found Ford
guilty on all counts. At the sentencing phase, the jury found
statutory aggravating circumstances as to each murder. The jury
found that the malice murder of Lisa Chapman was committed while
Ford was engaged in the commission of another capital felony – armed
robbery – and during the commission of a burglary. The jury found
that the malice murder of Martha Matich was committed while Ford was
engaged in the commission of the capital felonies of armed robbery
and murder and during the commission of a burglary. The jury
recommended that Ford be sentenced to death for the two malice
murders. The trial court followed the jury’s recommendation and
sentenced Ford to death on both malice murder counts, to run
consecutively to each other; merged the two felony murder counts
into the malice murder counts; and imposed a consecutive 20-year
sentence for armed robbery, a consecutive five-year sentence for the
firearm possession, and a consecutive 20-year sentence for burglary.
UPDATE: A 90-day stay was
ordered for Ford. According to the Georgia Board of Pardons and
Parole, a 90-day stay was granted due to the fact that there is a
vacancy on the board. A court has previously held that to go forward
with an execution without a full five-member board is a violation of
the Georgia Constitution. |
|
Date of scheduled execution |
State |
Victim name |
Inmate name |
Status |
|
February 24, 2010 |
Texas |
Twila Busby
Randy
Busby
Elwin Caler |
Hank Skinner |
stayed |
| Henry
Watkins Skinner lived with Twila Busby and her two adult sons, Randy
Busby and Elwin Caler, both of whom had mental retardation. Between
10:15 and 10:30 p.m., on December 31, 1993, Howard Mitchell came to
the residence to take Skinner and Twila to a New Year's Eve party.
Howard found Skinner asleep on the couch and was unable to wake him.
Skinner had apparently been drinking. Leaving Skinner on the couch,
Twila and Howard went to the party, but Twila soon asked to be taken
home because her uncle, Robert Donnell, was drunk and was following
her around, making rude sexual advances, and generally agitating
her. Howard drove Twila home between 11:00 and 11:15 p.m., and left.
At around midnight, Elwin showed up on a neighbor's porch with stab
wounds, from which he subsequently died. Twila was found dead on the
living room floor of her home, and Randy's dead body was found lying
face down on the top bunk bed in the sons' bedroom. Skinner was
found by police at Andrea Reed's house, located three-and-a-half to
four blocks away, at around 3:00 a.m. When the police found him,
Skinner was standing in a closet and wearing clothing that was
heavily stained in blood on both the front and back. At trial,
Andrea testified that Skinner arrived at her house at around
midnight and that they conversed for three hours. She did not know
how he entered her trailer, but when she saw him, he took his shirt
off and laid it on a chair. Skinner had a bleeding cut in his right
hand. He heated up sewing needles and attempted to bend them to sew
up his hand, and then he asked her to sew it, and she agreed. At
some point, he went to the bathroom by himself. During their
conversation, Andrea attempted to leave the room and call the
police, but Skinner stopped her and threatened to kill her. Skinner
told Andrea multiple stories about what happened at his home. He
claimed that a Mexican came to the door and pulled a knife, that
Twila was in bed with her ex-husband with whom Skinner got into a
fist-fight, that Skinner thought he had killed Twila by trying to
kick her to death, that Ricky Palmer broke into the house, and that
cocaine dealers were looking for Twila and wanted her really bad.
The medical examiner found that Twila had been strangled into
unconsciousness and subsequently beaten at least fourteen times
about the face and head with a club. DNA testing matched the blood
on Skinner's clothing to Twila and Elwin. Three bloody handprints
matching Skinner's were found in the house: one in the sons' bedroom
and two on doorknobs leading out the back door. A toxicological test
of Skinner's blood, conducted at 5:48 a.m., showed that Skinner had
0.11 milligrams of codeine per liter of blood and a blood alcohol
level of 0.11. Defense counsel presented three defenses at trial.
First, defense counsel focused on the State's failure to test some
of the DNA evidence to show that the State engaged in a sloppy
investigation. Second, defense counsel painted Robert Donnell as an
alternate suspect who could have committed the murders. Finally,
defense counsel presented evidence that Skinner was too
incapacitated by his intoxication to have committed the murders. Dr.
William Lowry, the defense toxicologist, testified that most people
at Skinner's level of intoxication would be comatose or asleep, and
in any event, between 12:00 and 3:30 a.m., Skinner would have been
in a stupor, with impaired consciousness, general apathy, and an
inability to stand or walk. Dr. Lowry believed that Skinner was too
incapacitated to travel to different rooms to kill the victims.
However, Dr. Lowry was surprised that Skinner could locate Andrea's
house at midnight and that he asked her to sew up his hand. Skinner
was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. UPDATE:
There was a stay issued and this execution has been rescheduled for
March 24, 2010. |
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