PRISONERS SENTENCED FOR CAPITAL FELONIES

Topic:
STATISTICAL INFORMATION; CAPITAL PUNISHMENT; PRISONS AND PRISONERS; FELONIES; SENTENCING;
Location:
SENTENCING;


March 14, 2005		2005-R-0258
PRISONERS SENTENCED FOR CAPITAL FELONIES

By: Christopher Reinhart, Senior Attorney

You asked when the penalties for committing a capital felony changed. You also asked for a list of inmates sentenced for capital felonies and their sentences.

SUMMARY

After a person is convicted of a capital felony, the court holds a death penalty sentencing hearing where the jury or the court (at the defendant's option) decides whether to impose a death sentence. Starting in 1973, when the legislature re-wrote the state's death penalty laws in response to U.S. Supreme Court rulings, the penalty when the person was not sentenced to death was an indeterminate term with a minimum of between 10 and 25 years and a maximum of up to life. That penalty changed to a definite term of 60 years for crimes committed beginning July 1, 1981 (PA 80-442). The penalty changed again, to imprisonment for life without the possibility of release, for crimes committed after October 1, 1985 (PA 85-366).

According to the Department of Correction, there were 45 inmates sentenced for capital felonies on January 1, 2005. Of these, seven were sentenced to death (one inmate's death sentence was later overturned and he will have a new penalty hearing while another inmate has since been sentenced to death), 34 were sentenced to life without possibility of release, and three were sentenced to other penalties under earlier

versions of the capital felony statutes. One additional inmate, Eric Amado, received a 60 year sentence but it is unclear why he did not receive life without possibility of release based on his listed offense date.

INMATES SENTENCED FOR CAPITAL FELONIES

The chart below shows the inmates sentenced for capital felonies by penalty and chronologically by date of offense (with one exception, Eddy Hernandez, where the offense date was missing). A number of these inmates also have sentences for other crimes.


Inmates Sentenced for Capital Felonies on January 1, 2005
Sentenced to Death*
*Name*	*Offense Date*	*Sentencing Date*	*Sentence*
Robert Courchesne	September 15, 1998	January 15, 2004	Death
Ivo Colon	July 17, 1998	December 5, 2000	Death (but later overturned and a new penalty hearing is pending)
Richard Reynolds	December 18, 1992	April 13, 1995	Death
Sedrick Cobb	December 16, 1989	August 13, 1991	Death
Daniel Webb	August 24, 1989	September 12, 1991	Death
Robert Breton	December 13, 1987	October 27, 1989	Death
Michael Ross	June 14, 1984	May 12, 2000	Death
Sentenced to Life Without Possibility of Release
*Name*	*Offense Date*	*Sentencing Date*	*Sentence*
Alexander Gray	November 28, 2002	September 21, 2004	Life without release
Paul Brown	February 8, 2002	July 9, 2004	Life without release
Mark Edwards	December 10, 2000	January 23, 2004	Life without release
Luis Galarza	March 23, 2000	September 12, 2003	Life without release
Isschar Howard	January 23, 2000	January 31, 2003	Life without release
Carl Johnson	October 15, 1999	April 19, 2002	Life without release
Alex Sostre	January 23, 1999	February 3, 2003	Life without release
Jose Torres	August 3, 1998	March 11, 2002	Life without release
Chasity West	July 9, 1998	September 27, 2001	Life without release
Mark Campmire	December 9, 1997	January 25, 2002	Life without release
Scott Pickles	June 18, 1997	October 27, 1999	Life without release
Kevin Whitworth	December 28, 1996	February 5, 1999	Life without release
Manu Shipman	October 29, 1996	April 28, 2000	Life without release
Norman Gaines	October 29, 1996	January 21, 2000	Life without release
James Downing	December 31, 1995	November 6, 1998	Life without release
Errol Dehaney	November 23, 1995	December 8, 1999	Life without release
Miguel Beltran	September 29, 1995	December 6, 1996	Life without release
Jorge Ramos	August 14, 1995	May 3, 2000	Life without release
Joseph Fernandes	April 29, 1995	October 11, 1996	Life without release
Beth Ann Carpenter	March 10, 1994	August 2, 2002	Life without release
Julio Rodriguez	February 21, 1994	April 28, 1997	Life without release

-Continued-


*Sentenced to Life Without Possibility of Release*
*Name*	*Offense Date*	*Sentencing Date*	*Sentence*
Janet Griffin	November 1, 1993	June 17, 1996	Life without release
John Camacho	July 30, 1993	May 29, 1998	Life without release
Dave Gibbs	July 12, 1992	May 1, 1998	Life without release
Chris Hafford	July 14, 1991	October 4, 1996	Life without release
Terry Johnson	June 7, 1991	September 28, 2000	Life without release
Jesus Correa	November 15, 1990	March 15, 1994	Life without release
Melvin Jones	October 17, 1990	March 25, 1996	Life without release
Jason Day	March 17, 1990	October 23, 1991	Life without release
Ronnie Hinton	October 13, 1989	May 2, 1991	Life without release
Eric K. Steiger	July 11, 1987	August 10, 1989	Life without release
Thomas Hoyensen	April 12, 1987	June 10, 1988	Life without release
Richard LaPointe	March 8, 1987	September 8, 1992	Life without release
Eddy Hernandez	-	February 28, 1996	Life without release
*Sentenced To Other Penalty*
*Name*	*Offense Date*	*Sentencing Date*	*Sentence*
Eric Amado	October 19, 1990	December 10, 1993	60 years
Hector Gonzalez	May 6, 1983	January 10, 1986	70 years
Kevin Usry	September 7, 1982	May 6, 1985	60 years
Wilmer Paradise	May 14, 1974	September 3, 1987	25 years to life

*Since 1/1/05, Eduardo Santiago was sentenced to death and Ivo Colon's death sentence was overturned on appeal and a new penalty hearing is pending.

Source: Department of Correction.

CR:ts