Results 1 to 5 of 5

Thread: Luis E. Reyes - Delaware

  1. #1
    Guest
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    5,534

    Luis E. Reyes - Delaware




    Facts of the Crime:

    Conviction and death sentence on March 14, 2002 for the murders of Brandon Saunders and Vaughn Rowe on January 21, 1996.

  2. #2
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    13,014
    Reyes' direct appeal was denied on March 25, 2003. The US Supreme Court denied certiorari on October 6, 2003.

    http://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.a...s/02-11224.htm

  3. #3
    Moderator Ryan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Newport, United Kingdom
    Posts
    2,454
    State to appeal death sentence reversal in 1996 double murder

    By Jessica Masulli Reyes
    The News Journal

    State prosecutors will appeal a judge's decision to overturn the conviction and death sentence of a man accused of fatally shooting two men whose bodies were found in Wilmington's Rockford Park nearly two decades ago.

    Superior Court Judge Andrea L. Rocanelli granted Luis Reyes' post-conviction motion this week.

    She wrote in a 92-page opinion that Reyes' constitutional rights were violated during the guilt and penalty phases of his trial. His trial counsel was ineffective and his decision not to testify at his trial was neither knowing nor voluntary, she added.

    "This court finds that the fundamental legality, reliability, integrity and fairness of the proceedings leading to Reyes' convictions and sentencing are not sound," she wrote.

    Reyes and co-defendant Luis Cabrera were convicted in the shooting deaths of Brandon Saunders and Vaughn Rowe, whose bodies were discovered in a wooded area of Rockford Park in Wilmington on Jan. 21, 1996.

    They have been on death row since 2001.

    Last year, Rocanelli reversed Cabrera's death sentence, but upheld his conviction. The state will appeal both rulings.

    The state was "deeply disappointed" by the reversal and the "effect this decision has had this week on the families of Brandon Saunders and Vaughn Rowe," according to Nicole Byers, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Justice.

    "We respectfully believe that there are numerous factual and legal errors in the Superior Court opinion, and we will be appealing the decision to the Delaware Supreme Court," she said.

    Reyes' attorney, Patrick J. Collins said, he is pleased with Rocanelli's ruling and happy for Reyes.

    "But now the ball is in the state's court," he said about the potential appeal.

    http://www.delawareonline.com/story/...rder/79514932/

  4. #4
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    13,014
    Supreme Court vacates death sentences for Powell and 12 others

    DOVER — The Delaware Supreme Court ruled Thursday the death sentence for convicted murderer Derrick Powell must be vacated.

    Although the court specifically addressed Powell, it also said its August ruling of the unconstitutionality of the state’s capital punishment statute was a “watershed” one that must be applied retroactively.

    It appears, thus, that the other 12 men on death row will instead have their penalty changed to life in prison, although they may have to formally appeal their death convictions.

    Powell, sentenced to death in 2011 for the 2009 killing of Georgetown police officer Chad Spicer, was appealing his punishment after the court’s August ruling. Justices heard arguments last week and released their decision Thursday, unanimously concluding Powell could not be executed after being sentenced under a statute since thrown out.

    While the news was welcome for some, others disagreed.

    “I think justice for the family and justice for the victims of these crimes is definitely not being served by having these sentences that were duly handed down overturned, but that’s the system that we live in right now,” Sen. Brian Pettyjohn, a Georgetown Republican who attended the hearing last week in support of the Spicer family, said Thursday.

    The August decision is a “watershed rule of criminal procedure,” meaning it meets the standard to apply retroactively, the justices wrote in their findings Thursday.

    Before the summer ruling, “the burden of proof was governed by the lesser standard of a preponderance of the evidence set forth in Delaware’s death penalty statute,” they wrote.

    In prior cases where the Delaware Supreme Court threw out the death penalty, justices ruled it applied retroactively, meaning the individuals on death row at the time had their sentences changed to life in prison.

    August’s ruling came about after a similar federal Supreme Court decision. Delaware justices found the state’s death penalty violated the Sixth Amendment, which guarantees right to a trial by jury. The law did not require the jury to rule unanimously on whether aggravating circumstances outweighed mitigating factors and gave the judge final discretion to sentence death.

    Chief Public Defender Brendan O’Neill, whose office represented Powell when he was charged with murder, applauded the decision.

    “I think the Delaware Supreme Court made the right decision. He was sentenced to death under a death penalty scheme that was unconstitutional, so I think it appropriate that the court not allow the state to execute him,” he said.

    “No doubt Mr. Powell committed a horrible crime for which he’s going to spend the rest of his life in jail but I think we need to keep in mind that five of the jurors who heard that case voted for a life sentence.”

    The Department of Justice declined to comment.

    Several justices appeared skeptical of the arguments set forth by the state last week, a fact noted by Sen. Pettyjohn, who said he “almost expected the ruling” handed down Thursday.

    While Delaware currently has no death penalty, 15 Republican lawmakers announced in August they intend to bring legislation to reinstate it. The House of Representatives voted down a repeal attempt last year, but the Senate may have the votes to block a bill bringing back capital punishment.

    Gov.-elect John Carney, a Democrat, said in October he would “probably” veto legislation reinstating capital punishment.

    http://delawarestatenews.net/news/su...and-12-others/

  5. #5
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    STATE OF DELAWARE v LUIS E. REYES

    OPINION DATE: January 19, 2017

    COURT: Delaware Supreme Court

    In 2001, Luis E. Reyes was convicted of two counts of Murder in the First Degree, two counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and two counts of Conspiracy in the First Degree in what came to be known as the "Rockford Park Murders." For these crimes, he was sentenced to death, which was affirmed on direct appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court. On March 25, 2004, Reyes filed a timely motion for postconviction relief. Twelve years later, after a lengthy procedural process, during which the trial judge retired and the postconviction proceeding was assigned to his successor, the Superior Court issued an opinion granting Reyes' motion and vacating his convictions and sentences. The Superior Court found that several errors occurred during the guilt phase of Reyes' trial. The Superior Court also found that Reyes' trial attorneys were ineffective for failing to establish that certain testimony was based on hearsay; by failing to calling certain witnesses; failing to request a "missing evidence" jury instruction; and by failing to offer into evidence statements a witness made in an interview with one of Reyes' trial attorneys. In addition, Reyes contends that his trial attorneys were ineffective in ways not ruled upon by the Superior Court. The State claims that the Superior Court committed error in all of its rulings. The State also contended that the other ineffective assistance of counsel claims asserted by Reyes were without merit. After careful consideration of all the issues presented, the Delaware Supreme court concluded the State was correct. The Superior Court's grant of Reyes' postconviction motion was reversed.
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •