Upcoming Execution: Robert Lynn Pruett. STAYED

Robert Lynn Pruett

ROBERT PRUETT HAS RECEIVED A STAY OF EXECUTION. MORE TO FOLLOW...

Tomorrow, Tuesday April 28th at 6.00pm CDT in Huntsville, the State of Texas will execute Robert Lynn Pruett. As of publication, all of Pruett's appeals have been unsuccessful. Robert Pruett's execution will go ahead unless the governor decides to grant clemancy, which is highly unlikely. It is a case of third time unlucky for Pruett, who has already had two executions dates (2013 and 2014) stayed.  

While I always try to cover upcoming executions, Robert Pruett's is a little more personal for me. Not only have I followed his case, like many, since watching the first airing of BBC documentary Life and Death Row but I started this blog because of his case. In the 12 months or so since I started following Robert Pruett's case, my opinion on his innocence has changed greatly. While I once believed he was completely innocent of killing Corrections Officer Daniel Nagle, I am no longer completely convinced. I guess that makes me something of a fence sitter. All I know is the BBC made the documentary to appeal to the average viewer, they only touched upon a tiny amount of information regarding the Pruett case. 

No physical contact is allowed for Death Row prisoners.

My opinion on the death penalty is also slowly changing. While I once was a huge supporter, I now find myself questioning just how effective it is. Tomorrow, IF Robert Pruett is executed there will be another family and group of loved ones mourning the loss of someone special because of murder. Will Daniel Nagle's family feel relief? retribution? at peace? My guess is they will feel exactly the same, after all executing Robert Pruett does not bring their son/father/husband/sibling/friend back. Daniel Nagle's sister even supported Pruett's application for clemancy, saying that while she could never forgive Pruett for her brother's death she didn't see how someone else dying would make things better. It is life's simplest rule - two wrongs don't make a right. 

The video below is an episode from the Life and Death Row series screened by BBC 3 in May 2014. This the one Robert Pruett appeared in and I have included it so those who haven't seen the programme can see it for themselves. This episode is titled 'Crisis Stage' and follows two inmates whose execution dates are imminent. 

Watch the BBC3 Documentary featuring Robert Pruett here.

Huntsville, Texas

                                     

Debra Jean Milke - Innocent or Guilty?

Debra Jean Milke

In 1989, a newly divorced Debra Milke moved into an apartment with her young son and a James Styers, a friend of Milke's sister. On December 2nd 1989, James Styers took Milke's four-year-old son Christopher to the mall. They had been gone a few hours when Milke received a phonecall from Styers telling her Christopher had 'disappeared' during a restroom visit at the mall. Debra Milke told him to inform mall security and continue looking for her son, while she dialled 911 to notify law enforcement. Some 24-hours later police arrested a long-term friend of Styers, a Roger Scott, who preceded to take police out to the desert where they were to found little Christopher Milke dead with three bullet wounds to his head. Roger Scott immediately pointed the finger at James Styers telling police Styers had murdered Christopher on Milke's say so. 

The following day, due to the implication by Scott, Jim Styers was arrested. Debra Milke went to the Pinal County Sheriff's office voluntarily, where she was told to wait in the jail dispensary. Called in on his day off lead case detective, Armando Saldate arrived via helicopter to interview Milke. Apparently, all other detectives had been told not to acknowledge or talk to her. After telling Milke's aqquaintance, who she had brought along for moral support, to wait outside Detective Saldate took Milke into another room. Here he was to begin interrogating her, with  no other witness or even a tape recorder present. Three days later, Detective Saldate submitted a report indicating that, in his prescence, Milke had confessed she had wanted her son dead and that she had been the main instigator behind his murder. The reason Milke had wanted her son dead, she didn't want him to grow up to be like his father who suffered with alcohol and drug problems. There was no taped or written confession, Saldate was the only witness to Milke's apparent confession. Despite this, Debra Milke was charged with child abuse, kidnapping, conspiracy to committ first degree murder and first degree murder. During her trial, prosecutors relied largely on the 'confession' that Detective Saldate insisted Debra Milke had given him. They told the jury that on the day of her son's death, Milke had dressed him in his favourite outfit and told him he was going with a friend to see Santa at the mall. Instead, little Christopher Milke was taken to the desert and executed, shot three times in the back of the head by Scott and Styers. There involvement apparently, was due to the promise of a share in £5000 life insurance Debra Milke told them she would get in the event of Christopher's death. In October 1990, Debra Jean Milke was found guilty of all charges and sentenced to death. Roger Scott and James Styers were also found guilty and sentenced to death as well.

Christopher Milke

Debra Milke was to sit on death row for the next eighteen years before the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona decided to file an amicus brief on her behalf. The brief questioned how reliable Milke's confession could be considering it was both unrecorded and uncorrobated. After nearly two years, in September 2009, the Ninth Circuit of Appeals found there was no evidence that Milke had voluntarily waived her Miranda rights before speaking to Detective Saldate. The court ordered the Federal Court Judge give Debra Milke a new trial. Suprisingly, the judge ruled against Milke, insisting there was little evidence to prove her Miranda rights had been removed involuntarily. He felt the conviction was constitutionally sound and threw out her attorney's requests for a new trial. Despite this, her attorney's were to continue appealing and, in March 2013, The U.S Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that Debra Milke's defence team were deprived of vitally important information during trial. 

Despite Detective Saldate's repeatedly stating that Debra Milke had waived all her Miranda rights voluntarily at the start of her interview and had gone on to confess her motive and role in the murder, Milke had always stated she requested an attorney at the beginning of the interview. The court ruled that evidence produced in court was little more than Milke's word against Detective Saldate's. In addition, important evidence that questioned Detective Saldate's crediabilty was withheld by the state. The fact that, on four previous occasions it was found Detective Saldate lied while under oath and he had also had countless confessions thrown out because he had failed to follow procedure during interrogation were withheld from Milke's defence. The state had chosen to keep Saldate's history quiet. Had the jury been aware of Saldate's past indiscretions they may have been less likely to take his word over that of Debra Milke. For that reason, both Milke's conviction and sentence were overturned. Milke walked out of the prison she had called home for 24 years in September 2013. In March 2015, after much appealing on behalf of the state and Debra Milke, she was completely exonerated with the court ruling that prosecutors could not retry Milke for murder under double jeopardy laws. 

Of course, just because Debra Milke's conviction was eventually tossed does not mean she wasn't guilty of the crime. Many people seem to assume Milke was released because she was found innocent, this is not the case at all. She was released because the state did not fufill its burden to prove she had committed murder beyond a reasonable doubt. Furthermore, her conviction relied solely on the evidence of a Detective whose track record for honesty was less than desirable. A record the state had a duty to provide to the defence team, whether they asked for it or not. While there is no denying Detective Saldate was the only person to testify in the Milke case, other things were brought up that may have helped the jury decide to convict. For instance, while waiting for their trials Debra Milke and James Styers kept in regular contact by letter. In not one of these letters did Milke talk about Christopher, she didn't express grief at his loss or even offer memories of her son. Instead, she chose to write about how fattening the prison food was. She also wrote in another letter 'if I get convicted Jim, I may as well kill myself. If I have to stay in prison for the rest of my life, what do I have to live for?' There was no anger at a potential miscarriage of justice, no mention that her life was over because of the loss of her son. No, Milke just wrote about herself. In a report sent to the judge during Milke's 1991 sentencing, her own father, himself a corrections officer in Florida, wrote ' Debra should never have been allowed to be a mother. If she is let out and goes on to have more children then she will keep murdering'. Debra Milke's own sister went on record as saying she had seen Milke be abusive to Christopher on more than one occasion. She referred to one time when Milke had locked a naked Christopher out of the house as punishment for messing his pants. Another incident she recalled, saw Milke deliberately withheld medicine from her small son because she was furious he had been sick. Her sister also said Milke was well known for given false or incorrect contact information to daycare personnel and babysitters, so she could avoid the responsibility of being a mother for longer. While none of this proves Debra Milke murdered her own son, it certainly paints a picture of someone who could well be capable of it. 

Today, Milke lives in a house bought for her through donations from her many supporters. She is currently pursuing damages from the state on the grounds that she was the victim of a malicious prosecution, which led to a gross miscarriage of justice. There is no denying that Milke's case was handled terribly by officials from the very beginning. However, do you think Milke was unfairly imprisoned for 24 years, or do you think she managed to get away, eventually, with murder?

Both Roger Scott and James Styers remain on death row with limited appeals remaining. 

Debra Milke Cannot be Retried for Murder.

Scheduled Execution - Andre Cole

Andre Cole

At 6pm, Missouri time, 42-year old Andre Cole will be executed for the 2001 murder of his ex-wife's boyfriend. Despite this being a sound conviction, backed by DNA evidence and Cole's own statement, the Governor of Missouri is under intense pressure to stay the execution. This is because Cole, an African-American man, was convicted and sentenced to death by an all white jury. Despite the evidence, there is genuine racial unrest surrounding Cole's impending execution, on the basis that St Louis prosecutors removed three members of the jury, all black, before the trial began. 

Adding fuel to the fire is the fact the case was prosecuted in St Louis county, the jurisdiction that covers Ferguson where a series of clashes occurred last August over the police shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown. A collective of African American organizations, civil rights activists and religious bodies have flooded the Governor's office with requests he launch an official enquiry into 'rampant racial bias' within St Louis County. They believe this racial bias has sent an unusually high amount of Black Americans to death row. 

Missouri's Governor appears to be standing his ground, and as of publication time Andre Cole is still set to be executed. However, there are many individuals who believe that if Cole is executed today, it will create huge problems that reach much further than Ferguson. 

Andre Cole murdered his Ex-Wife's Boyfriend in 2001

Happy New Year! Guest Bloggers Wanted!

                                                               

The death penalty debate still rages on...

First of all, Happy New Year to all who stop by and read my blog - I hope 2015 is a happy, healthy year for each one of you. Although I started this blog back in April 2014, I haven't had as much time to dedicate to it as I would of liked. This has especially frustrated me, because it has proved to be a popular....small....but popular blog. It is therefore my new year's resolution to spend more time on my blog. I have been lucky enough to have several people leave comments on my posts, all had differing opinions and all had a good point to make. This is why I have decided to appeal for guest bloggers. Basically, it would involve you writing a piece on ANY subject (within the criminal justice genre) that you like. It can be written as you want it, no matter what your opinion and your piece will be posted to the blog as is - it will only be checked by me for spelling errors. 

The Robert Pruett case has fascinated me from the minute I watched the Life and Death Row documentary over here in the UK. I was convinced from that, Pruett was innocent - of the murder of the corrections officer, Daniel Nagle - and that was that. Yet, when I wrote a post on this case, it received many comments, some from people who know Robert Pruett, others who are all to familiar with the TDCJ system and people who just knew more than I did about the case. I must admit I now sit on the fence with this case, something I never like to do but I believe these people and the Pruett case have helped me become more open minded. Something I would like to do for others. 

If you would like to write a guest blog piece, you can contact me directly at lollipopwrites@gmail.com . 

Write a post on a criminal subject of your choice...

The Law of Parties - Is it Fair?

The Law of Parties is a Felony Murder Rule

                                        
The Law of Parties is Texas' Felony murder rule. It means, that in the eyes of the law, a person can be held criminally responsible for the actions of another if she conspires, aids and abets that person. However, the Law of Parties is different to the Felony Murder Rule in other jurisdictions, especially when it comes to cases where the death penalty is on the table. In essence, in Texas, someone convicted of murder under the Law of Parties can face the death penalty as well as the person who carried out the deed. 

The Texas Moratorium Network led a bill, in 2009, attempting to bring an end to people receiving the death penalty if they were convicted under the Law of Parties. Despite being approved by the Texas House of Representatives, the bill was not passed by the senate. And so, to this day, people are still convicted and sentenced to death under this law, despite not committing the deed. 

Robert Lynn Pruett - He was sentenced to 99 years in prison at the grand old age of 15, after his neighbour was murdered by his father. Because prosecutors decided Pruett's father would not have killed the man had Pruett not incited him by insinuating the man was harassing and verbally abusing him, Robert Pruett was convicted under the Law of Parties. In April 2002, Pruett was convicted of the murder of a prison officer and sentence to death. He is currently appealing his, incredibly shaky, conviction. 

Ray Jasper - Convicted of the 1998 murder of studio boss, David Alejandro. He and two accomplices broke into property owned by Mr Alejandro intending to steal expensive stereo equipment. However, the victim happened upon the three robbers and while Jasper admitted to cutting the victim's throat, he was insistent this was only after his two accomplices delivered over 25 fatal stab wounds to Mr Alejandro. He was convicted under the Law of Parties and sentenced to death in 2000. In March 2014, Ray Jasper was executed by lethal injection. 

Clinton Lee Young - Was sentenced to death under the law of parties after he was deemed as responsible as two co-defendants for the brutal murder of two men for their cars. During the trial, it was Young who was deemed to be the gun man, whereas Young has always denied being the shooter. He is currently in Texas' Polunksy Unit waiting on the results of various appeals. 

So, what is your view of the Law of Parties? Is a 15 year old really responsible for the actions of a grown man? and did he really deserve a full life sentence at such a young age. Or do you think people, such as Jasper and Young, use the Law of Parties, to try and claim their innocence for a crime they actually did commit? 

Many campaigners are against the controversial
Law of Parties. 

The Controversial Execution of Troy Davis

           

Troy Davis

When thinking of the most controversial death row cases, it is hard not to immediately think of Troy Davis. Born in October 1968, Davis was executed by the state of Georgia on September 21st 2011. 

Troy Davis' story starts on August 19th, 1989, when Marc McPhail, a police officer working as a security guard for Burger King was brutally murdered as he jumped to the defence of a man being insulted in a car park nearby. Troy Davis, who up to then had dabbled in petty criminal activity, was arrested soon after. During his trial, no fewer than seven witnesses confirmed they had seen Davis shoot Mr McPhail. Another two witnesses also testified that Davis had made direct confessions to them about McPhail's murder. As well as a total of 34 witnesses, the prosecution had ballistics evidence they claimed implicated Davis as the killer. This was despite no weapon ever being recovered. Rather, bullet casings found at the scene were said to match those found at the scene of another crime for which Troy Davis had been charged. In August 1991, Davis was found guilty of murder, as well as other lesser charges and sentenced to death. 

In the 20 years between Davis' conviction and execution, he did nothing but protest his innocence. As well as Amnesty International and The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Davis soon gained support from celebrities and the general public. Former President, Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI, Desmond Tutu and the former director of the FBI, were just some of the high profile names who were calling for Troy Davies to be granted a new evidentiary hearing. Although Davis was scheduled to be executed in July 2007, September 2008 and October 2008, all were granted a stay not long before the execution took place. In 2009, the U.S District Court for the Southern District of Georgia was ordered by the Supreme Court to acknowledge evidence that proved Troy Davis was innocent of Marc McPhail's murder. This evidence apparently HAD been available at the time of the Davis trial but it hadn't been considered. 

In June 2010, a new evidentiary hearing was held. Troy Davis' defence produced affadavits for seven of the nine people who had originally said they had seen Troy Davis murder the police officer or had listened to his confession. The affidavits confirmed these people had changed or recanted their original statements. In fact, several implicated another person, Sylvestor Coles, as the actual shooter. The very person Troy Davis had spent nearly 20 years saying was the true perpetrator of the crime. Despite this evidence, the original conviction was upheld,with the district court accusing the defence of putting on a "smoke and mirrors" show. It was even inferred that several of the alleged affidavits were not even recantations at all. 

Troy Davis continued to appeal his conviction, all of which were dismissed. Davis was soon given his fourth execution date, September 21st 2011. The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles received petitions containing over 1 million signatures asking for Davis to be granted clemency. This wasn't to be however, and Troy Davis was executed by lethal execution and declared dead at 11.08pm on September 21st 2011. 

The Troy Davis case was the second most active event on Twitter in 2011, with around 7671 tweets per second being recorded just before Davis' execution. His funeral was attended by several big names as well as 1000 others. 

The Troy Davis case remains controversial to this day, some three years after his death, with many people believing an innocent man was executed. Unfortunately, the truth is unlikely never to be known but the name Troy Davis is unlikely to be forgotten any time soon.

Troy Davis had huge public support.

Murderous Mothers: Darlie Routier

Darlie Lynn Routier

One of, if not the most, controversial female inmates resides on death row in Texas - Darlie Routier. Convicted of the 1996 murder of her son, 5-year old Damon, she is also believed to be responsible for the death of Devon, her 6-year old son. Although many will say the evidence in this case clearly points to Routier, she is not without her supporters. In fact, there are many who believe Darlie Routier is an innocent woman, a victim of incompetent police work and circumstantial evidence.

On June 6th,1996 at 2.31 am, a frantic 911 call was made from within the Routier residence. The caller was Darlie Routier, reporting that she and her young sons had been attacked by an unknown intruder as they lay sleeping in the downstairs living area. Routier reported that as well as stabbing her, the intruder had stabbed both of her sleeping sons. First responders were shocked by the brutal injuries Devon and Damon had suffered, while Darlie Routier had, what many called, superficial injuries. Despite allegedly sleeping through the entire attack on her and the children, Darlie told police she had given chase to the intruder. All of this had happened as Darlie's husband, Darin Routier, lay sleeping upstairs with the couple's seven month old son, Drake. In fact, the first Darin Routier was aware of a problem, was when he heard his wife screaming to call 911.

In the days following the murder, Darlie Routier's behavior was described as odd, even cold. Many people were already questioning whether Darlie was responsible for the horrific murders, as she did not appear particularly upset at the loss of her young sons. This was evidenced further just eight days after the murders, when Darlie and her family held a 7th birthday party for Devon at the little boys' graves. Video recordings of Darlie laughing, smiling, singing "Happy Birthday" and spraying silly string over the children's graves were broadcast across America. Her actions, which Darlie Routier described as celebrating her sons' lives as they would of wanted, seemed to cement her guilt in the minds of many and she was arrested on capital murder charges four days later.

During the Routier trial, prosecutors argued that the crime scene did not match up with Darlie Routier's version of events that night. Rather than being brutally attacked by an unknown assailant, prosecutors accused Routier of brutally stabbing the two boys and then inflicting less serious injuries on herself. They painted her as a materialistic woman, who lived well beyond her means and who, behind closed doors, was sinking under substantial debts. The worry of no longer being able to live the high life and the possibility of losing the family home drove Routier to murder her two young sons. After all, having two less children to care for would relieve some of the financial burden pressuring the family. Blood spatter experts, physcians, crime scene techs and law enforcement officers all spoke out against Routier at trial. According to these professionals the crime scene was staged and blood spatter on Routier's clothes the night of the murder was, in their opinion, cast off spray from a stabbing motion. Despite Routier's defence strongly arguing her innocence, she was found guilty and sentenced to death on Febuary 1st, 1997.

And now,  some 18 years after the murders, Darlie Routier sits on death row - still protesting her innocence. For every professional who speaks up for her guilt, there is another who will speak for her innocence. Routier has a legion of supporters who believe the police concentrated straight away on Darlie Routier being the perpetrator -therefore blinding themselves to the possibility that there may actually be a violent murderer out there somewhere.

So, what do you think? Is Darlie Routier a cold blooded killer who picked off her young sons simply to ensure she was able to continue with her lavish lifestyle. Or, does an innocent grieving mother sit on death row, imprisoned for a crime she didn't commit?

                                                               

Darlie Routier in 1996

Robert Pruett - Did He Do It?

Robert Lynn Pruett
(Photo courtesy of The Express)

I first became aware of the Robert Pruett case around the same time most people in the UK did, when the documentary Life and Death Row was aired on BBC 3. A compelling documentary, the second programme centred on what is known as "Crisis Cases". These cases are when a death row inmate is looking at an imminent execution date and is looking for any and every kind of help he/she can get that may get them a stay of execution. Robert's case was featured alongside that of gang member Robert Garza. Pruett would eventually get a last minute stay of execution, while Garza went on to be executed.

Robert Lynn Pruett is 35 years old and he has been in prison since he was 15. Which means he has spent more of his life locked up than he did on the out. Pruett's original sentence was 99 years without parole. This was for the role he played in the murder of a neighbour. Although Pruett was not the person who stabbed the man to death, his father was, Robert was convicted under the "law of parties" act. This means if an individual is behind the events that eventually lead to the murder, they are held as culpable as the person who does the deed.

Four years into his sentence at a Texas prison, prison corrections officer Daniel Nagle was stabbed to death with a handmade shank (the name for an often crude weapon made by an inmate from everyday items). While there was no DNA or finger print evidence, a report written by the officer was torn up and strewn all over the crime scene. That report was actually a write up for a violation allegedly committed by Pruett earlier in the day. This write up is what is believed to have made Pruett angry enough to kill. Pruett denies murdering Officer Nagle and has always insisted he had never touched the report. Pruett's 21/05/2013 execution was stayed to allow for the evidence to undergo DNA testing. The results were inconclusive.

In Febuary 2014 Pruett was given a new execution date, 21/05/2014 - twelve months to the day of his first one. However, in April this execution date was also stayed to await further testing of evidence.

While there is no doubting Pruett's guilt for the original crime, many believe he is innocent in the murder of Officer Nagle. According to Pruett supporters he is the victim of "bent" correctional officers who wanted rid of Daniel Nagle because he was "by the book". While these allegations have never been proven, two correctional officers left their positions one month after the murder. Pruett's defence also points out that witness statements provided by other inmates are unreliable as many were offered privileges or even early release in return for their statements.

So, what do you think? Could Texas be wanting to execute the wrong man or is he truly deserving of the death penalty?

UPDATE - 

Robert Lynn Pruett is set to be executed April 28th, 2015. When this update went to publication, his appeals for a stay of execution had so far been unsuccessful. You can read more about Robert here.

The Allan B. Polunsky Unit
Home of Texas' Death Row
(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

Robert James Campbell receives last minute stay.

Today, the 13th of May 2014, around 18.00 hours, Texas death row inmate Robert James Campbell was set to become the first offender executed since the "botched" execution of Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma. However, with just two hours to go, Campbell was granted a stay to allow his legal team to pursue appeals regarding whether his alleged mental impairments make him ineligible for execution.

Campbell was convicted of capital murder after he abducted, raped and shot Alexandra Rendon, 21, in 1991. Campbell's attorneys are arguing that because Campbell has an IQ of 69, he is not mentally competent for execution. The average acceptable score is 70 in most courts. Campbell's legal team submitted a flurry of last minute appeals throughout Tuesday, with the IQ issue being ruled on by the Supreme court while still being considered by the 5th circuit. Campbell's second request for information regarding naming the source of the execution drug was thrown out.

"I am happy. The lord has prevailed" Campbell was reported as saying on hearing news of his last minute stay. He was being held in the "death" cell at Huntsville awaiting his fate.

While Campbell maybe thanking the Lord, the loved ones of his victim are once again left wondering when, and if, justice will be served.

"This was not a shoot, rob and run away - the agony she suffered" said Miss Rendon's cousin, Israel Santana. It seems once again the victim's voice is drowned out in favor of the offender.


                                                         

Robert James Campbell
(Photo courtesy of CNN)