|
 US Supreme Court Reverses Appeal By Gay Man's
Killer
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: May 14, 2007 - 7:00 pm ET
(Washington) The US Supreme Court on Monday
reversed an Appeals Court decision that set aside the death sentence of an
Arizona man convicted of killing a gay Phoenix man in 1989.
Jeffrey Landrigan was already serving a 20 year
sentence for killing an acquaintance. In 1989 he escaped from the Oklahoma
prison where he was incarcerated and made his way to Phoenix.
A month later, he murdered Chester Dyer, a gay
man he picked up on a street where hustlers hang out.
Dyer invited Landrigan home and while they were
drinking beer in Dyer's apartment Landrigan strangled him with an electrical
cord and repeatedly punctured him with a screwdriver.
Landrigan was later arrested, charged, and
sentenced to death for Dyer's slaying.
A new lawyer, Dale Baich, appealed, arguing that
Landrigan did not receive a competent defense and that Landrigan might have
received a life term instead of a death sentence had his trial lawyer submitted
evidence that he was predisposed to violence and suffered brain damage that made
him unable to appreciate his crimes.
A study of his family history shows that many
relatives committed violent crimes, including his father, who is on Arkansas'
death row. Baich added that Landrigan's mother constantly drank moonshine when
she was pregnant with Landrigan.
None of that evidence was presented at trial
because Landrigan himself had directed his original lawyer not to present the
evidence. (story)
Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the majority
in a 5-4 decision, said that the appeals court should have deferred to lower
court ruling in the case.
Court records from the original trial submitted
to the Supreme Court show that at his sentencing hearing, Landrigan repeatedly
interrupted his lawyer's efforts to present evidence on his behalf.
Landrigan finally told the judge that there
weren't any mitigating circumstances to share.
But after he was sentenced Landrigan claimed that
if his lawyer had explained his plan better to him, he would have agreed to
allow him present the evidence on his family background.
The Arizona Supreme Court, a
federal district judge and a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit all rejected
Landrigan's argument. But the full appeals court reversed, saying Landrigan was
entitled to a hearing on his claim that his lawyer was ineffective.
©365Gay.com 2007
|
Entertainment
