Prison Pen Pals www.friendonline.org
  • About Friendonline
    • Helpful hints
  • USA
    • Oklahoma >
      • Emanuel Mitchell
      • James Mitchell
    • Louisiana
    • Florida >
      • Luis Caballero
      • Waldo Jeune
    • Texas >
      • Death Row >
        • A-B-C >
          • Alfred Brown
          • Allen Bridgers
          • Arturo Diaz
          • Beunka Adams
          • Beunka Adams
          • Carol Joe Parr
          • Carlos Ayestas
          • Carlos Trevino
          • Charles Don FLores
          • Christopher Wilkins
        • D-E-F >
          • Douglas Tyrone Armstrong
          • Duane Edward Buck
          • Elroy Chester
          • Fabian Hernandez
        • G-H-I >
          • Gary Green
          • Gerald Marshall
          • Guadalupe Esparza
          • Hector Medina
          • Humberto Garza
        • J-K-L >
          • James Broadnax
          • Juan Castillo
          • Jesse Joe Hernandez
          • Joe M. Luna
          • John Battalglia
          • John Allen Rubio
          • John M. Quintanilla >
            • The true story
          • John H. Ramirez
          • Joseph Gamboa
          • Juan Alvarez
          • Ker'Sean Ramey
          • LeJames Norman
        • M-N-O >
          • Manuel Velez
          • Milton Dwayne Gobert
          • Nelson Gongora
        • P-Q-R >
          • Pablo Melendez
          • Pablo Vasquez
          • Paul David Storey
          • Pete Russel
          • Preston Hughes >
            • The case
            • The case
          • Ramiro Ibarra
          • Ramiro Gonzalez
          • Raul Cortez
          • Ray Freeney
          • Robert Campbell
          • Ronald Hamilton
          • Ronnie Threadgill
          • Rosendo Rodriquez
          • Ricardo Vasquez
          • Ruben Gutierrez
        • S-T-U >
          • Santos Minjarez
          • Selwyn Davis
          • Stanley Griffin
          • Travis Runnels >
            • Reality Row
        • V-W-X >
          • Walter Sorto
          • Wesley Ruiz
          • William Rayford
        • Y-Z
      • Prison >
        • A-B-C >
          • Allan Bailey
          • Andrell Thompson
          • Andrew Sindt
          • Anthony Wiley
          • Bennie Price
          • Chad Davis >
            • Photos
            • Music
          • Charles Anthony Allen
          • Charlie Harris
          • Christopher Garcia
        • D-E-F >
          • Danny Dixon
          • Danny Spence
          • David Montanez
          • Doyal Garrett
          • Eliott Guerrero >
            • Poems
          • Emanuel Camacho Gomez
          • Fernando Puente
        • G-H-I >
          • Gerardo LLanas
          • Haywood Chambers
          • Irvan K. Beverly
          • Isaac Tamayo
        • J-K-L >
          • Jacob Sotello
          • James Michael Sepesi
          • Jeremiah D. Crow
          • Jerry Bradford
          • Jose Eloy Salazar
          • Joshua Paul De Leon
          • Julio Marcos
          • Kevin Cupples
          • Loerey Bernal
        • M-N-O >
          • Marcus Long
          • Mario Harris
          • Michael Betts
          • Michael Brown
          • Michael Montgomery
          • Odell Baker
        • P-Q-R >
          • Paul Polk
          • Phil Moss
          • Reid Whitesides
          • Robert Arambula
          • Robert Dudley
          • Robert McClure
          • Robert Torres
          • Roger Uvalle
          • Roosevelt Smith Jr.
        • S-T-U >
          • Travis Prunty
          • Tristan Williams
        • V-W-X
        • Y-Z
  • Zambia
    • Kabwe >
      • Joseph Sambwe Musonda
      • Justine Mumbi
      • Kennedy C. Chongo
  • The Netherlands
    • www.bonjo.nl
  • Contact
  • News updates
  • donations
  • Books

Jury begins deliberations on death sentence

3/1/2012

0 Comments

 
_Jury begins deliberations on death sentence


The jury in the Victor Gantt death penalty trial has begun deliberating whether
he deserves the death penalty or life in prison, for murdering 75-year-old
Leroy Jones in his Middletown home last May.

The prosecutors and defense delivered closing statements Thursday morning on
the 7th day of the Butler County trial. Brandishing the rusty-looking hand ax
Gantt used to kill Jones, Assistant Prosecutor Brad Burress told the jury they
have a “grand” responsibility.

“When you go back in that jury room no one else is going to be with you to tell
you about things like compassion, sympathy, tears, emotion,” he said. “Jurors
it’s very easy to be swayed by concepts like that. And if you let those
emotions grab hold of you justice will not be served in this case.”

The jury of 6 men and 6 women found Gantt guilty of aggravated murder,
aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery and tampering with evidence last week
in Butler County and are now charged with recommending a sentence. The death
penalty is one of their choices.

The jurors began deliberating at 11:55 a.m. and will be sequestered tonight if
they don’t reach a verdict. ?Burress went on to carefully lay out how Gantt,
26, smashed through a French door with an ax at the Jones home last May, struck
Jones six times in the head and then trashed the house. Gantt tried to burn the
house down to cover his crime by piling items on the kitchen stove and turning
on all four burners. All Gantt took from the house was $150 in pocket
change.?Defense attorney Melinda Cook reminded the jurors it only takes one of
them to preclude the death penalty. The jurors can recommend a sentence of life
in prison with parole eligibility after 25 or 30 years or life without
parole.?She discussed, as his family members have testified all week what a
miserable life Gantt was dealt, with a mother who abandoned him at birth and a
tyrannical and abusive father. She also talked at length about medical records
from various hospitals Gantt was taken to through the years for drug induced
psychotic episodes.

The defense team didn’t call any witnesses in the first phase of the trial so
the jury hadn’t heard this information before. But the records were put into
evidence on Wednesday.

She reminded the jury that Gantt’s family members all said he was acting
“crazy” in the days leading up to May 2, which they say is his particular
reaction to marijuana.?“Do we have any evidence he was on marijuana, do we have
any direct evidence he was not on marijuana,” she said. “His whole family is
telling you what was going on with him in the days before. He’s up, he’s down,
he’s being saved (by God). The next day he’s back to the same thing. Tracing
his finger on a window, growling at family members.”?Prosecutor Mike Gmoser had
the last word during closing arguments, he told the jury he’d give them “a
little scientific CSI” stuff and proceeded to pull the aluminum bat Gantt said
Jones struck him with out of its evidence bag. Photos showed a dribble of blood
trailing down the bat. He said that blood couldn’t stream that way if it was in
Jones’ hand.?Gantt’s brother testified Wednesday that his baby brother didn’t
mean to kill Jones. Gmoser said the defendant’s own words belie that assertion.
Gantt in his confession said he hit Jones with the ax twice in the head, Jones
hit a brick wall and slid down. There were six ax wounds in Jones’ head.?

(source: Dayton Daily News)
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

    Categories

    All
    Abu Dhabi
    Alabama
    Alaska
    Amnesty International
    Arizona
    Arkansas
    Australia
    Bahrain
    Bangladesh
    Barbados
    Belarus
    Book
    Botswana
    California
    Canada
    China
    Colorado
    Connecticut
    Dakota
    Delaware
    Documentary
    Egypt
    Film
    Florida
    Gaza
    Georgia
    Ghana
    Global
    Guantanamo
    Guyana
    Human Rights Watch
    Idaho
    Illinois
    India
    Indiana
    Indonesia
    Iowa
    Iran
    Iraq
    Israel
    Jamaica
    Japan
    Kansas
    Keith Thurmond
    Kentucky
    Kuwait
    Lebanon
    Liberia
    Libya
    Louisiana
    Malaysia
    Maldives
    Maryland
    Massachusetts
    Mental Retardation
    Mexico
    Michican
    Military
    Minnesota
    Mississippi
    Missouri
    Montana
    Morocco
    Movie
    Nebraska
    Nevada
    New Jersey
    New Mexico
    New York
    New Zealand
    Nigeria
    North Carolina
    North Korea
    Norway
    Ohio
    Oklahoma
    Oregon
    Pakistan
    Pennsylvania
    Philippines
    Portugal
    Rhode Island
    Russia
    Saudi Arabia
    Singapore
    Sister Helen Prejean
    South Africa
    South Carolina
    South Dakota
    Sri Lanka
    Sudan
    Syria
    Taiwan
    Tanzania
    Television
    Tennessee
    Texas
    Thailand
    Theatre
    TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
    Tulsa
    Tunesia
    Uganda
    Ukraine
    United Arab Emirates
    United Kingdom
    Urgent Appeal
    Usa
    Us Military
    Utah
    Vietnam
    Virginia
    Washington
    World
    Wyoming
    Yemen
    Zimbabwe

    RSS Feed

Powered by
✕