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Thread: Joseph Christopher Cowan Sentenced to LWOP in 2015 AL Robbery and Murder of Antonio Hernandez and Joshua Davis

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    Joseph Christopher Cowan Sentenced to LWOP in 2015 AL Robbery and Murder of Antonio Hernandez and Joshua Davis


    Joshua Davis, left, and Antonio Hernandez


    Joseph Christopher Cowan


    4 Decatur murder, robbery suspects in court today for preliminary hearing

    By Crystal Bonvillian
    AL.com

    A man and three teenagers accused of killing two men during a crime spree in Decatur last month are appearing in court for a preliminary hearing today.

    Previous:


    Joseph Christopher Cowan, 20, Amani Juan Goodwin, 17, and 16-year-olds Cedric Lamont Cowan and Cortez Ocie Mitchell, all of Decatur, are set to appear in front of Morgan County District Judge Shelly Slate Waters at 9 a.m.

    The foursome are charged with capital murder in the May 15 slaying of Antonio Hernandez and the shooting death early the next morning of Joshua Dewayne Davis. The teenagers are also charged with four counts of first-degree robbery in connection with other crimes committed before and after Hernandez was slain.

    http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/in...l#incart_river
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    'He hung his head and started to cry.' Case against 4 Decatur slaying suspects detailed in court hearing

    By Crystal Bonvillian
    AL.com

    Members of Josh Davis' family wiped away tears Thursday morning in a Morgan County courtroom, listening to details of how the 25-year-old was killed last month during one of the worst violent crime sprees Decatur has ever seen.

    Wearing shirts emblazoned with Davis' face and the phrase "Justice for Josh," Davis' family sat across the courtroom from another large group, the families of four young men - Joseph Christopher Cowan, 20, Amani Juan Goodwin, 17, and 16-year-olds Cedric Lamont Cowan and Cortez Ocie Mitchell - accused of killing Davis and Antonio Hernandez.

    The four, who are all charged as adults, were in court for a preliminary hearing on capital murder and robbery charges. District Judge Shelly Slate Waters will issue a written ruling at a later date on whether she found enough probable cause to send the case to a grand jury.

    Decatur Police investigator Mike Burleson, the sole witness called during the hearing, detailed for the court the timeline of the events over four days that left Davis and Hernandez dead. During his testimony, several new details in the case came to light - including allegations from Mitchell that Joseph Cowan was the person who pulled the trigger in both slayings.

    Mitchell was the first suspect questioned by the detective, who was led to the teen by a photo taken on a cell phone stolen during a May 13 robbery - the first crime the group is accused of. When they sat down in an interrogation room at police headquarters, Burleson showed Mitchell the photo and asked him to tell him about it.

    "He hung his head and started to cry," Burleson said.

    Burleson also testified that during a phone call at the jail - which was recorded - Mitchell told a family member to get rid of two stolen cell phones he had hidden in some bushes. The family member apparently did so, and the phones have not been found. No arrest had been made as of Thursday, Burleson said.

    The subsequent investigation, which included statements from Mitchell and Cedric Cowan, as well as statements from several robbery victims, indicated that the crime spree went down like this:

    9:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 13: The park behind Julian Harris Elementary School

    Mitchell told Burleson that he, the Cowan brothers and Goodwin drove around for a while, looking for someone to rob, before going to the park.

    The three 18-year-old robbery victims told police were forced to lie on the ground by the suspects, who they described as wearing masks and being armed with firearms. The suspects stole cell phones, wallets and car keys before fleeing.

    When Burleson got the case the following afternoon, there were no leads. A woman who lives a few blocks from the park told investigators that day, however, that a man she later identified as Cedric Cowan had knocked on her car window outside her home and asked her for a ride. When she told him she didn't have the gas to take him where he wanted to go, he left.

    The following day, Burleson got a phone call from the mother of a victim in the Julian Harris robbery, who told him that her son had synced his new phone bought after the robbery and found a photo that he had not taken. When Burleson shared the photo with other officers in the department, a school resource officer from Decatur High recognized that the picture had been taken in the school cafeteria.

    A second SRO recognized the person in the picture. Burleson testified he planned to go to the school the following Monday to talk to the boy.

    9 p.m. Friday, May 15, 5th Avenue

    Residents called police to report that someone had fired shots at them as they sat on their front porch. Burleson testified that the victims said a silver or gold Nissan Altima pulled up in front of the house and the driver turned off the headlights.

    The vehicle would later be identified as belonging to Goodwin's family. Mitchell said Goodwin was driving them that night.

    As the victims watched, the rear driver's side window was rolled down and five to six shots were fired at them. They were not injured and could not identify the shooter.

    9:50 p.m. Friday, May 15, Albert Street

    Officers responding to a 911 call found Hernandez lying dead under the carport of the home. His friend, who lived at the home, told police through a Spanish translator that he and Hernandez were smoking cigarettes and drinking beer when the group of men showed up, armed with guns.

    The victims were made to lie face down on the ground as the suspects robbed them. Hernandez' friend said he ran for his life when he heard shots being fired; he ran to his boss' house and reported the shooting.

    Mitchell told Burleson in his statement that he was trying to get Hernandez' watch off his wrist when Joseph Cowan opened fire.

    Hernandez' autopsy showed he suffered five bullet wounds. The fatal shot pierced his chest just under his nipple and tore through his heart and liver before exiting under his arm.

    He also had several wounds to his legs, the trajectory of which indicated that they were fired while Hernandez was lying on the ground, Burleson said.

    Mitchell told Burleson that, after they fled the scene, Joseph Cowan stated, "I think I hit that n----r in the head."

    The detective said an Oklahoma City Thunder hat was found on the carport after Hernandez was killed. Mitchell later identified it as his own.

    10:30 p.m. Friday, May 15, 5th Avenue

    Witnesses who reported another round of shots being fired in the area at that time told officers the shots came from a silver Altima. No one was injured in that incident.

    11:15 p.m. Friday, May 15, the Beltline

    A former classmate of Joseph Cowan's told police during the investigation that she spotted Cowan in the backseat of a Nissan Altima with the window down. She said the car followed her as she and a friend drove around and as they went to McDonald's to get food. "I thought it was suspicious because he was the only one with his window down," the girl said.

    11:25 p.m. Friday, May 15, 8th Avenue

    A woman returning to her home with her child called police and reported being robbed by two men fitting the description of the Cowan brothers. The woman told investigators that one of the men aimed a gun at her and told her, "B--ch, give me your s--t or I'll kill you in front of your kid."

    She handed over her Michael Kors purse, which had cash and other personal items in it. The purse was later found in a search of the Cowan brothers' home. The victim described the car the suspects used as a tan or gold Altima.

    12:30 a.m. Saturday, May 16, 5th Avenue

    A woman sitting inside her home, watching Sherlock Holmes, called police to report several gunshots fired into her window. Officers who responded to the scene found seven .22-caliber shell casings in the street.

    Burleson testified that the casings were from Sellier & Bellot bullets, a type of ammunition that, in 10 years on the police force, he'd never come across before.

    Investigators would later find a box of Sellier & Bellot ammunition at the Cowan home, as well as two unfired bullets at the scene of Davis' shooting.

    1:17 a.m. Saturday, May 16, Decatur police headquarters

    A man showed up at the police station to report that he'd been robbed about 90 minutes before as he rode his bike near 11th Avenue and 2nd Street. Two men robbed him while a third stayed in the car, he told officers.

    As he ran away from the suspects, he heard one of them yell, "Shoot him, shoot him," but no shots were fired, Burleson testified.

    9 a.m. Saturday, May 16, Wilson Morgan Park

    A man called police to report finding Davis' body lying in a picnic area under the pavilion at the park. Near his body, investigators found a spent .380-caliber shell casing - the same type of ammunition used to kill Hernandez - and the two live Sellier & Bellot rounds.

    Davis' autopsy showed that he had been shot once in the temple. The wound was a contact wound, meaning that the gun was placed up against his head and fired, Burleson said. A muzzle imprint was found on Davis' scalp.

    Markings on the two Sellier & Bellot bullets were consistent with the rounds being ejected from a gun that jammed, the detective said.

    Other details that came out in the hearing include:


    • The three teens were taken into custody by officers during the investigation. Joseph Cowan turned himself in after Burleson asked his father to talk him into coming in. "I told him that, above all things, I wanted a peaceful resolution to what had happened," Burleson testified.


    • Police found a bullet hole in the interior of the Nissan Altima used during the crimes. Goodwin's lawyers told investigators that the bullet hole came from a warning shot when their client and Mitchell were forced by the Cowan brothers to participate in the spree.


    • The car had been freshly cleaned and vacuumed when police searched it.


    • Mitchell talked to Burleson a second time on Monday, May 18, after his murder charge had been upgraded to capital murder. It was then that the teen reportedly detailed what happened to Davis in Wilson Morgan Park, placing himself and his three co-defendants at the scene.


    • Cedric Cowan initially refused to talk to investigators, but later gave a written statement. In it, he claimed he stayed in the car and that he didn't see who shot Hernandez and Davis. "I didn't see who did the shootings but I wouldn't tell if I did," Cowan wrote.


    • Goodwin's former girlfriend, 14, gave police a statement saying that her ex-boyfriend, who she saw the Friday afternoon, told her that he and Mitchell were going to rob and shoot someone. She said she didn't believe him, until he told her the following morning that they'd killed a man. The girl also told police Goodwin had previously shown her handguns he had in his bedroom and that she'd seen him and a friend shoot at a group of Mexicans outside a Huntsville mall in December.


    • Burleson said that the night of shootings and robberies was unlike anything he'd seen in the city. "I was as busy as I'd ever been."


    http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/in...reliminar.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Judge orders 4 Decatur murder, robbery suspects to go before grand jury

    A Morgan County judge has found that there is enough probable cause to have a grand jury consider the case against four suspects accused of killing two men and robbing several other people last month in a four-day crime spree.

    District Judge Shelly Slate Waters ordered Joseph Christopher Cowan, 20, Amani Juan Goodwin, 17, and 16-year-olds Cedric Lamont Cowan and Cortez Ocie Mitchell bound over, according to court records. Waters' decision was filed late Thursday afternoon.

    Waters heard testimony Thursday morning from the lead investigator in the case, who spent several hours detailing the crime spree that began May 13 and ended May 16 with two men, Antonio Hernandez and Joshua Davis, shot to death in separate incidents.

    The Cowans brothers, Goodwin and Mitchell are each charged with two counts of capital murder in the homicides. Goodwin, Mitchell and Cedric Cowan are also facing four counts each of first-degree robbery for a string of armed robberies they allegedly committed in that four-day time frame.

    The three teens are being tried as adults.

    http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/in...l#incart_river
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Hearings postponed for defendants accused of killing two men last year

    By Keith Clines
    The Decatur Daily

    Wanting to reduce the chances of successful appeals later, Morgan County District Attorney Scott Anderson agreed to the postponement Thursday of youthful offender hearings for three young Decatur residents charged with murder.

    The delay will allow the judge to rule on a disagreement over who has a right to attend the hearings. If granted youthful offender status, the defendants could not be sentenced to more than three years in prison if found guilty.

    “We need to be crystal clear on the law,” Anderson said after the aborted hearings. “We want the defendants' rights to be well protected.”

    Joseph Cowan, Cedric Cowan and Amani Goodwin were in court to determine if they would be tried as juveniles in the May 2015 shooting deaths of Antonio Hernandez-Lopez and Joshua Davis. The scheduled hearing Thursday for the fourth defendant, Cortez Mitchell, previously had been postponed.

    Joseph Cowan was 20, Cedric Cowan and Mitchell were each 16, and Goodwin was 17 when the shootings occurred.

    The hearings Thursday to determine if Morgan County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Howell would grant youthful offender status to Goodwin and to brothers Cedric Cowan and Joseph Cowan came to a halt when Cedric Cowan’s attorneys Brent Burney and Ed Blair requested a closed hearing.

    Attorneys for co-defendants Joseph Cowan and Goodwin requested to remain in the courtroom after Howell said everyone but witnesses and relatives of the victims had to leave.

    “I’m not aware of anything in the law that others can be present,” Howell said.

    Anderson objected to the request.

    “We’ve been through this before,” Anderson told Howell. “The lawyers for the other defendants cannot be present.”

    Brian White and Jake Watson, who are representing Joseph Cowan, said they have a right to be present for Cedric Cowan’s hearing.

    “I want to hear everything that every witness and every defendant has to say,” White said.

    Watson said the law doesn’t allow the youthful offender hearings to be closed to the public. It is only after a defendant is granted youthful offender status that all further court records and proceedings are closed to the public, he said.

    Watson and White don’t plan to request a closed hearing for Joseph Cowan.

    “We feel like there’s a right to a public hearing on this and that that’s in the best interest of our client,” Watson said after Thursday’s proceedings.

    Howell wondered aloud if Cedric Cowan’s attorneys would agree to allow the other attorneys to stay for the hearing.

    Anderson said he wasn’t aware of any “partial confidentiality” that allows others to remain in the courtroom.

    Howell, prosecutors and the defendants' attorneys spent more than 30 minutes researching the law on the matter with no immediate result.

    Howell decided to delay the youthful offender hearings until Sept. 16 and gave both sides until July 30 to file briefs arguing their positions on the matter. Howell said she will rule on the issue before the hearings.

    All four defendants have been charged with capital murder. If granted youthful offender status, the defendants could be sentenced to no more than three years in prison if found guilty. If found guilty as adults, Joseph Cowan could face the death penalty and the other three defendants could face up to life in prison without the chance of parole.

    Mitchell said in a sworn statement to police that Joseph Cowan shot Davis and Hernandez-Lopez with a .380-caliber pistol, Decatur police investigator Mike Burleson testified in a preliminary hearing last year.

    Mitchell also said in his statement that Cedric Cowan shot Hernandez-Lopez with a .22-caliber rifle, Burleson testified.

    http://www.decaturdaily.com/news/mor...a98f9eac4.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Cowan said 'street cred will be up because he’s a murderer,' detective testifies

    By Ashley Remcus
    The Decatur Daily

    In a recent phone call to his girlfriend, capital murder suspect Joseph Cowan said when he gets out of jail his “street cred will be up because he’s a murderer,” a detective testified today.

    Cowan along with three co-defendants in the 2015 slayings of two men are in Morgan County Circuit Court for youthful offender hearings to determine whether they will be tried as adults or juveniles. If Judge Jennifer Howell grants them youthful offender status, the four would spend no more than three years in prison.

    Joseph Cowan was 20, Cedric Cowan and Mitchell each were 16, and Goodwin was 17 when Antonio Hernandez-Lopez and Joshua Davis were killed.

    All four suspects each have been held in Morgan County Jail since their arrests in May 2015. The jail’s inmate phone system records calls, of which copies can be downloaded.

    The Aug. 11 phone call between Joseph Cowan and his girlfriend initially was mentioned during testimony by Decatur police Detective Mike Burleson, who said he didn’t listen to the call but received a report from the District Attorney’s Office about it.

    DA’s investigator Johnny Coker, who said he listened to a recording of the call, testified that in several phone calls Joseph Cowan has made from the jail, “an inference can be made” that he’s confessing guilt.

    “I don’t want to go to trial,” Joseph Cowan said during the phone call, according to Coker’s testimony. “If my co-defendants testify, it’s over with. I’m dying — it’s death penalty for me. I don’t want to risk it.”

    In statements to the police, Mitchell has identified Joseph Cowan as the one who fatally shot Antonio Hernandez and Joshua Davis with a .380-caliber pistol, Burleson testified.

    Mitchell also told police that Joseph Cowan’s bother Cedric shot Hernandez with a .22-caliber rifle, Burleson testified.

    Under cross-examination from defense attorney Brian White, Coker testified Joseph Cowan has never explicitly admitted to the allegations made in the case.

    In some phone calls made to his mother and other women, Joseph Cowan has discussed possible alibi witnesses, who will say he was not at the scene of the crimes, Coker testified.

    Burleson testified that in a statement to police, Goodwin’s girlfriend said Goodwin told her he had robbed and killed somebody during a phone call the day Davis’ body was found in Wilson Morgan Park. The previous night, Hernandez’ body was found in a carport on Albert Street Southwest.

    At the beginning of today’s hearing, Howell settled a dispute regarding the confidentiality of the hearings and who could be present by ruling they would be open to all members of the public.

    The hearings, which are recessed for lunch break, will resume at 1:30 p.m.

    http://www.decaturdaily.com/news/loc...65520e598.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    'We want justice:' Death penalty possible if young Alabama killings suspect convicted

    By Ashley Remkus
    AL.com

    Prosecutors haven't ruled out the option of seeking the death penalty if one of four young Decatur residents is convicted of capital murder in the 2015 random killings of two men.

    Morgan County District Attorney Scott Anderson said he hasn't yet decided whether his office will seek to have Joseph Cowan, 22, put to death if he is convicted of killing Joshua Davis and Antonio Hernandez-Lopez in Decatur.

    This week, Cowan and three teenagers were denied youthful offender status in connection with a May 2015 crime spree that included several armed robberies and shootings into homes, in addition to the fatal shootings.

    "We are in full agreement with the judge's decision," Anderson said. "We want justice for these victims and their families. We were anticipating the applications to be denied."

    At the time of the crimes, Cowan was 20, his brother Cedric Cowan was 16, Cortez Mitchell also was 16 and Amani Goodwin was 17.

    Youthful offender status would have guaranteed the suspects not be sentenced to more than three years, if convicted.

    For the teen defendants, the death penalty is out of the question if they are convicted because the Supreme Court has ruled it unconstitutional to sentence juveniles to death.

    But, in the older Cowan's case, "we haven't made that call yet," Anderson said of seeking the death penalty. "We'd like to get all of the case information and evidence in to take a look at it. We also want to talk to the victims and their families about our decision."

    If prosecutors choose not to seek death, Joseph Cowan, upon conviction, would face life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    The teen defendants could face life with or without the possibility of parole, if convicted.

    Each of the suspects is charged with three counts of capital murder—one for killing 25-year-old Davis during a robbery, one for killing 27-year-old Hernandez-Lopez during a robbery and the final count for killing two or more people.

    The six counts of first-degree robbery the defendants are charged with each carries a sentence of 20 years to life in prison. The defendants face one to 10 years in prison on one count of shooting into an occupied dwelling and two to 20 years on a second count of that charge.

    The next court hearing is an arraignment scheduled for Dec. 19 at 10 a.m. At that time, the defendants will enter pleas of guilty or not guilty.

    The defendants remain in the Morgan County Jail, where they have been housed without bail since their arrests on May 17, 2015.

    http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/in...rt_river_index
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    4 Alabama capital murder suspects plead not guilty -- 2 by reason of mental defect

    By Ashley Remkus
    AL.com

    Sighs and scoffs were heard on one side of a Morgan County courtroom this morning during the arraignments of two young Alabama residents charged with capital murder.

    As the attorneys for Amani Goodwin and Cortez Mitchell entered their pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, the sounds came from the side of the room where victims and their families sit.

    That sound wasn't heard when the two other suspects, Cedric Cowan and his brother Joseph, pleaded not guilty. And on the side of the room where the suspects' family and friends sit, there was silence.

    The four suspects are charged with 11 felonies in connection with a May 2015 robbing, shooting and killing spree that left two men dead in southwest Decatur.

    Each suspect was denied youthful offender status by Circuit Judge Jennifer Howell last month. Youthful offender status would have guaranteed the suspects serve no more than three years in prison if convicted.

    The fatal shooting victims, who police say were chosen randomly, were Antonio Hernandez-Lopez and Joshua Davis.

    The killings were part of a crime spree that included six armed robberies and two shootings into homes.

    When the alleged crimes occurred, Joseph Cowan was 20, Cedric Cowan and Mitchell each were 16, and Goodwin was 17.

    Morgan County District Attorney Scott Anderson said he wasn't surprised by any of the pleas.

    "It's just what we expected," he said.

    Defense attorneys for the suspects were granted 60 days to prepare motions arguing why the defendants' cases should be tried separately.

    "We anticipate that they all will be severed," Anderson said.

    For the two defendants who pleaded not guilty by reason of mental defect, Howell will also have to rule on whether mental evaluations will be conducted.

    Particularly in question is the mental capacity of one of the younger suspects, Mitchell, who's now 18.

    During a September hearing on the suspect's youthful offender applications, a Tuscaloosa psychologist testified the boy's IQ was 70 and he has the mental capacity of a 12-year-old, The Decatur Daily reported.

    "He's functionally illiterate," Goff testified about Mitchell, according to The Daily. "He did not, in my view, understand his right to counsel and didn't have the mental faculties to waive his right to counsel."

    Shortly after police began identifying suspects in the crimes, Mitchell agreed to speak with investigators and pinned the shootings on the older Cowan.

    During today's hearing, defense attorney John Roberts questioned Mitchell as to whether he could understand the charges against him.

    Mitchell nodded his head 'yes'.

    A hearing on motions pending in the case is set for March 24 at 10 a.m.

    Anderson said the case probably won't go to trial until 2018.

    If convicted, the older Cowan, Joseph, faces the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    The other three defendants face up to life without parole because of a Supreme Court ruling that states cannot put juveniles to death.

    http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/in...rt_river_index
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Death penalty, double jeopardy questioned in Decatur capital murder cases

    By Ashley Remkus
    AL.com

    Prosecutors today announced they intend to seek the death penalty for one of four young people charged in the random slayings of two Decatur men.

    If Joseph Cowan is convicted of capital murder, the Morgan County District Attorney's Office plans to argue he should be put to death.

    Cowan is charged along with his brother Cedric Cowan, Amani Goodwin and Cortez Mitchell in the May 2015 killings of Antonio Hernadez-Lopez and Joshua Davis. The fatal shootings were part of what prosecutors have called a dayslong crime spree that included several armed robberies and shootings into homes. At the time of the killings, Joseph Cowan was 20, Cedric Cowan was 16, Goodwin was 17 and Mitchell was 16.

    Joseph Cowan's co-defendants cannot be put to death because they were juveniles at the time.

    "We do intend to seek the death penalty on Joseph Cowan," Morgan County Assistant District Attorney Paul Matthews said during a hearing this morning in Circuit Judge Jennifer Howell's courtroom. "As we understand the law, it would not apply to the others."

    The older Cowan's attorneys are asking Howell to bar the death penalty and rule it unconstitutional. That request was made in one of more than 30 motions the judge is considering in the cases.

    Attorneys Jake Watson and Brian White are arguing the Alabama death penalty scheme is unconstitutional because state law allows a judge to override a jury's recommendation for sentencing of either life in prison without the possibility of parole or to death. They also are challenging the state's method of execution.

    "I don't know for sure what that method is," White told the judge. "I don't know that they've figured that out."

    Howell did not issue rulings on those issues today, and the attorneys agreed to hold off on oral arguments until the next court date, which is scheduled for next month. A bill making its way through the Alabama legislature could affect whether some of the arguments are necessary.

    A bill by Republican Sen. Dick Brewbaker of Pike Road would give the jury the final say on whether a person is sentenced to death, instead of the letting a judge make that determination.

    Other issues taken up during the hearing included separating the cases so that each defendant will get his own trial. Prosecutors hope to get at least one of the defendants to trial this year.

    Attorneys for Mitchell, the younger Cowan and Goodwin requested the severances.

    Prosecutors agreed for the need to separate the cases, particularly that of Mitchell, who has pointed to the Cowan brothers as the ones who shot the victims, according to authorities.

    "Mitchell needs to be severed," Matthews said.

    Mitchell's attorneys Joe Propst and Jacob Roberts are asking the judge to dismiss the capital murder counts against the defendant because it's been ruled unconstitutional to sentence juveniles to death.

    Similarly, Cedric Cowan's attorneys, Brent Burney and Edward Blair, are asking for the capital indictments against him to be dismissed.

    The attorneys believe the judge should be allowed to use discretion in sentencing their client and should not be limited to life without parole or life with parole.

    The attorneys also argue their client might face double jeopardy is he's convicted on all indictments against him. The defendants are charged with three counts of capital murder--one for killing Davis during a robbery, another for killing Hernandez Lopez during a robbery and a third for killing two or more people. If convicted of all three, the defendants would be convicted twice for killing each of the defendants.

    "You can't kill the same person twice," Blair told the judge.

    Prosecutors said that argument isn't valid because each of the capital indictments is a separate charge under Alabama law.

    Howell did not issue rulings today on any of Cowan or Mitchell's arguments but said she will issue written orders in court records.

    At the behest of attorneys Robert Tuten and Nick Heatherly, Howell also severed Goodwin's case from the others, with prosecutors agreeing.

    Several motions to suppress evidence and the motions on the death penalty will be taken up during a hearing that's been set for April 21 at 9 a.m.

    Howell also will consider at a later date the older Cowan's request for a change of venue for the trial.

    http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/in...rt_river_index
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  9. #9
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    Defense attorney testifies about his client's co-defendant in capital murder case

    By Ashley Remkus
    AL.com

    A defense attorney for one of four young people accused of randomly killing two men in Decatur took the stand to testify during an evidentiary hearing today.

    Huntsville attorney Nick Heatherly represents Amani Goodwin, one of four young Decatur residents charged with capital murder in a string of robberies, shootings and killings that occurred in May 2015. Heatherly was called to testify Friday by attorneys for one of his client's co-defendants, Cortez Mitchell.

    Goodwin and Mitchell are charged along with brothers Cedric and Joseph Cowan in a crime spree that included multiple days of robbing, shooting and killing people in Decatur. Joshua Davis and Antonio Hernandez-Lopez were fatally shot during the spree.

    Heatherly was one of four witnesses who took the stand during an evidentiary hearing that lasted more than four hours. Mitchell's defense team is arguing their client's statements to police should not be admissible in court. Mitchell's statements pin the fatal shootings on the Cowan brothers and provide details about the crimes plus each suspect's role.

    Mitchell's attorneys, Jacob Roberts and Joe Propst, argue the teen didn't clearly understand his Miranda Warning before speaking to a Decatur police detective. The attorneys also questioned witnesses about whether the detective, Mike Burleson, may have pressured Mitchell to speak to police or whether Burleson may have been intimidating toward Mitchell.

    Despite hearing from Burleson, Heatherly and experts who testified about Mitchell's mental capacity, Morgan County Circuit Judge Jennifer Howell did not issue a ruling at the hearing. Howell said she will issue a written ruling.

    Heatherly testified about seeing Mitchell looking "scared to death" on the day a Decatur police detective served the teen with a capital murder warrant at the Morgan County Jail.

    Heatherly told the judge he was at the jail to visit his client, Goodwin, when he saw Mitchell looking "distraught, emotional and upset." Decatur police Detective Mike Burleson was there to serve Mitchell and the other defendants with warrants upgrading their charges from murder to capital murder.

    Heatherly told the court he immediately pulled out his cellphone and sent a text to Tim Shelton, the attorney who at the time was representing Mitchell. Shelton no longer is a member of Mitchell's defense team. "I would want someone to contact me if my client was in that state," Heatherly testified, adding that was the first time he ever had taken such action.

    Mitchell's attorneys were trying using Heatherly's testimony to bolster arguments that their client's statements to police should no be admissible in court.

    Also testifying during the hearing was Tuscaloosa psychologist Dr. John Goff, who told the judge Mitchell's mental capacity is similar to that of a 12-year-old. Mitchell, who is now 18, was 16 at the time of the crime spree. Goff testified for the defense that Mitchell has an IQ of 70, meaning he is "intellectually disabled," the equivalent of "mental retardation." Goff told the court 98 percent of the population has a higher IQ than Mitchell.

    Goff told the judge Mitchell's mental capacity would not have allowed him to retain information from the Miranda Warning long enough to process it and understand what the words meant. Mitchell would not really understand that legally he didn't have to talk to police, or that he had a right to have a family member or lawyer present for the interview.

    Goff, who interviewed Mitchell and prepared a report for the court, testified specifically about the teen's language retention skills, saying Mitchell couldn't define words or phrases like interrogation, appoint, represent, afford or used against. Those words appear in the Miranda Warning. Mitchell only provided partial definitions of words like entitled or right, Goff testified.

    Goff told the judge Mitchell, who was a 9th grader at Decatur High School when he was arrested, was unable to name the president, governor or sheriff.

    Mitchell's taped interview with Detective Burleson was played during the hearing. Mitchell was unable to provide his own address when asked and had difficulty spelling his own name.

    Goff also told the judge the detective read Mitchell the Miranda Warning "extremely rapidly," rather than making sure the teen understood each section of the document as they moved along.

    "I don't think he had a clue as to what was going on there," Goff testified of Mitchell. "He is barely literate."

    Morgan County Assistant District Attorney Paul Matthews called as a rebuttal witness Stefanie Underwood, a special education coordinator for Decatur City Schools.

    Underwood testified that school evaluations of Mitchell determined his IQ was 82, putting it 12 points higher than Goff's assessment. Underwood told the judge Mitchell's intellect was found to be much higher than his classroom performance.

    Underwood told the court the school's assessment uses pictures and symbols to assess a person's IQ, rather than using language, such as speaking and writing.

    The Miranda Warning in question, however, as pointed out by Mitchell's attorneys, did not include pictures and symbols--it was read aloud to the teen.

    In statements to police, Mitchell has identified Joseph Cowan as the one who fatally shot Hernandez-Lopez and Davis with a .380-caliber pistol. Mitchell said Cedric Cowan shot Hernandez with a .22-caliber rifle after the victim already was lying on the ground.

    When the alleged crimes occurred, Joseph Cowan was 20, Cedric Cowan and Mitchell each were 16, and Goodwin was 17. The crime spree began on May 13, 2015 with multiple robberies in the park behind Julian Harris Elementary School on McAuliffe Drive Southwest. Three teens were robbed of jewelry, mobile phones, car keys and wallets.

    Hernandez-Lopez's body was found lying under the carport at his Albert Street Southwest home when police responded to a 911 call on May 15, two days after the Julian Harris robberies.

    On May 16, officers discovered Davis' body in Wilson Morgan Park when a man reported finding it in a picnic area under the pavilion.

    http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/in...ifies_abo.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    UPDATED: Cortez Mitchell capital murder trial begins; co-defendant Goodwin pleads guilty to felony murder


    By Marian Accardi
    The Decatur Daily

    Testimony started today at Morgan County Courthouse in the capital murder trial of Cortez Mitchell for two May 2015 slayings.

    Meanwhile, one of the four defendants in the case, Amani Goodwin, has entered a guilty plea to two counts of felony murder and three counts of first-degree robbery, according to a judgment of conviction and felony sentencing order, and he was sentenced to serve a life sentence for each felony murder count and 20 years for each robbery count.

    The sentences are to run concurrent with each other, according to the order signed by Circuit Judge Jennifer Howell.

    The state agreed that it would not oppose, at any time, Goodwin’s opportunity for parole, documents show.

    In exchange for the pleas and recommended sentences by the state, Goodwin agreed to appear and testify at the trials of his indicted co-defendants as well as any unnamed or not-yet-identified co-defendant or co-conspirator in any of the charges in the indictment, according to court documents.

    “I think it’s a fair resolution,” Robert Tuten, Goodwin’s attorney, said today. “He never had a gun. He never pulled a gun. He was present for most of the events, but not all of them.”

    The other three defendants, including Mitchell, 19, are each charged with three counts of capital murder, six counts of first-degree robbery and one count each of shooting into an occupied building and shooting into an unoccupied building. They are accused of killing Antonio Hernandez-Lopez in his Southwest Decatur home’s carport, and Joshua Davis at Wilson Morgan Park. They are also accused of robbing several residents.

    The judge this morning at Mitchell's trial gave instructions to a jury of 12 and six alternates. Opening statements were presented by the defense and prosecution.

    Also charged in the deaths are Joseph Cowan and Cedric Cowan. Joseph Cowan was 20, Goodwin was 17, and Cedric Cowan and Mitchell were both 16 at the time.

    The state is seeking the death penalty against Joseph Cowan. Because they were juveniles when the crimes occurred, the other defendants are not eligible for the death penalty.

    The court has previously ruled that the defendants would have separate trials.

    http://www.decaturdaily.com/news/mor...3174f921f.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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