Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 123
Results 21 to 25 of 25

Thread: Paul Jackson Henry III - Pennsylvania

  1. #21
    Moderator Dave from Florida's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    810
    Quote Originally Posted by one_two_bomb View Post
    Why do prosecutors in Pennsylvania even seek death sentences? Do taxpayers like wasting their money, or is there some other explanation?
    I have thought about that too. The cases get vacated by state and federal judges almost unanimously. You would think the state attorneys would see a repeated error in the trials and correct it. I have tried to find out how many cases in PA have made it through state and federal courts with the death sentence intact. If there are any, the Governors moratorium is preventing them from being carried out.

  2. #22
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    I read somewhere years ago that 90% of the DR inmates that have gone thru the appeal process in PA end up having their sentences vacated or commuted.
    "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

  3. #23
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    York County judge to throw out death sentence in double-murder. What's next is unclear

    By Dylan Segelbaum
    York Daily Record

    There’s a phrase that’s often expressed in capital murder cases in Pennsylvania: Death is different.

    What’s happening with Paul Henry III is a perfect example.

    On Wednesday, Common Pleas Judge Michael E. Bortner indicated that the death sentence imposed against Henry, 42, of East Manchester Township, will be thrown out for a technical reason. The prosecution and the defense agreed that two mitigating circumstances” existed in the case: He did not have any write-ups in York County Prison or a significant prior criminal record. But the jury did not write them on the verdict slip.

    “All parties agree that the finding by the jury was, in fact, infirm and request a re-sentence,” Bortner said.

    The omission on the verdict slip, appeals courts have held, invalidates the death sentence. Now, Bortner will decide whether prosecutors can again seek the ultimate punishment — or if double-jeopardy precludes them from doing so.

    Henry was found guilty on May 22 of two counts of first-degree murder. At a minimum, he’s set to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    On Sept. 13, 2016, Henry burst into a home in Fawn Township with his wife, Veronique. He shot and killed Danielle Taylor, 26, of Spring Grove, and Foday Cheeks, 31, of Fawn Township.

    Prosecutors have argued that Henry had a "pure, visceral hatred” of Cheeks, whom he once described as a “pimp/drug dealer.” Taylor, they said, was “collateral damage.”

    Veronique Henry killed herself in York County prison. She was 32.

    During the hearing, Chief Deputy Prosecutor Scott McCabe argued that the law “clearly permits” the York County District Attorney’s Office to again seek the death penalty.

    McCabe said he’s seen nothing to the contrary. The jury, he said, did not come back with an acquittal.

    “There was a conviction on the merits of the death penalty,” McCabe said.

    But Suzanne Smith, one of Paul Henry’s attorneys, likened the jury’s actions in not writing down the two mitigating circumstances to prosecutorial misconduct. (She made it clear that prosecutors themselves did not do anything wrong.)

    “It’s a unique situation,” Smith said.

    Smith questioned whether it was fair to continue to subject her client to attempts to put him to death. The law, she said, has a presumption toward life.

    To which McCabe later replied, “Your honor, there’s absolutely no support for her position at all.”

    The defense raised additional legal issues. The judge said he will issue a decision at a later date.

    https://www.ydr.com/story/news/crime...ip/1450354002/
    "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

  4. #24
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    York County judge throws out death sentence against double-murderer due to jury error

    Paul Henry III, 42, of East Manchester Township, remains convicted of two counts of first-degree murder. He is set to serve a minimum of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    By Dylan Segelbaum
    York Daily Record

    A York County judge has thrown out the death sentence against a man who fatally shot two people in 2016, more than six months after the prosecution and the defense agreed that the punishment could not stand because of an error on the verdict slip.

    Paul Henry III, 42, of East Manchester Township, remains convicted of two counts of first-degree murder. He's set to serve a minimum of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    In an order dated on April 8, Common Pleas Judge Michael E. Bortner also ruled that double-jeopardy does not apply and prosecutors can continue to seek the death penalty. He's stayed resentencing while additional legal issues are sorted out.

    “We have been in communication with defense counsel as to how to proceed,” said Kyle King, a spokesman for the York County District Attorney’s Office. “However, no decisions have been made at this point in time.”

    Farley Holt, Henry’s attorney, could not immediately be reached.

    On Sept. 13, 2016, Henry burst into a home in Fawn Township with his wife, Veronique, and shot and killed Foday Cheeks, 31, of Fawn Township, and Danielle Taylor, 26, of Spring Grove.

    In his closing argument, District Attorney Dave Sunday said Henry had a "pure, visceral hatred" of Cheeks, whom he once described as a “pimp/drug dealer.” Taylor, prosecutors said, was “collateral damage.”

    The prosecution and defense agreed that two "'mitigating circumstances" existed: Henry did not have any write-ups in York County Prison or a significant prior criminal record. But the jury did not write them on the verdict slip. That invalided the death sentence.

    Veronique Henry killed herself in York County Prison. She was 32.

    https://www.ydr.com/story/news/crime...ip/3520850002/
    "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

  5. #25
    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Posts
    2,740
    Double murderer escapes death penalty, sentenced to life in prison

    Paul Jackson Henry III was sentenced Friday to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole for the murders of Danielle Taylor and Foday Cheeks in 2016 and an additional 10 to 20 years for robbery.

    Common Pleas Judge Michael E. Bortner determined the new sentence after he was required to throw out a jury's previous death sentence due to a procedural error in the jury process.

    Bortner said Friday the court "cannot imagine the terror suffered" by the victims and the four survivors who were left alive at the house where the murders took place.

    Henry attended the proceeding by video conference from York County Prison, but his attorneys, Suzanne Smith and Farley Holt, were present in the court room.

    Chief Deputy District Attorney Scott McCabe prosecuted the case.

    When Henry first joined the video call and could be seen in the court room, his mother, Renee Henry, called out, "Hi Bud," but his attorneys said he wouldn't be able to hear her.

    Bortner said he considered both the aggravating and mitigating circumstances of the case in his decision about whether Henry should, again, be sentenced to death.

    One aggravating circumstance was that Henry killed Cheeks in the presence of two minors, one of whom considered Cheeks to be a father figure, the judge said.

    Henry also indiscriminately fired bullets that hit one of the walls near the four survivors, Bortner said.

    And Henry appeared to be searching for drugs during the crime, Bortner said, because when he entered the house, he asked witnesses, "Where's the s--t," apparently referring to drugs.

    As for the mitigating circumstances, Bortner said Henry has had no disciplinary write-ups during his time in custody, and had no criminal history before committing the murders.

    Henry served in the in the U.S. Marine Corps for four years until he was honorably discharged, Bortner said.

    And after the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, Bortner said Henry, who happened to be in New York City at the time, volunteered to stay behind and help with recovery efforts.

    Bortner also spoke about Henry's work as a contractor and said he'd helped clients in need at no charge, made sure his staff were always paid before himself and hired an employee who had a criminal history and couldn't find other work, which allowed the employee to become a contributing member of society.

    The judge also said Henry may have been acting under duress from drug addiction when he committed the murders, and that he may have been under the impression that his wife was having an affair with Cheeks.

    "We'll never know what prompts someone to act so out of character," Bortner said

    But Bortner also said the court would be derelict in its duty if it didn't remember the victims and how their lives and their families' lives were impacted by Henry's crimes.

    Danielle Taylor's only mistake was her bad choice of friends, Bortner said. And he said that despite Cheeks' drug offenses, he was still a part of the community with family and friends who cared about him.

    "Nothing I do here today will make up for your loss," he said to members of Taylor's family who were in the gallery.

    A man who was there for Taylor left the court room after Bortner announced the new sentence, and a representative from the York County District Attorney's Victim/Witness Unit said Taylor's family did not wish to comment on the proceedings.

    Henry declined to make a statement to the court.

    Even if Bortner had sentenced Henry to death, it's unclear when, or if, the sentence would have been carried out, as Gov. Tom Wolf placed a moratorium on the death penalty in Pennsylvania in 2015.

    Smith and Holt said they intend to appeal Henry's conviction. Holt said there were some "unkosher" things that went on with the jury during the trial. He did not elaborate.

    Henry will remain in York County Prison for 60 days at the request of his attorneys so they can consult with him more easily than if he were remanded to a state prison, due to the COVID-19 mitigation restrictions.

    https://eu.yorkdispatch.com/story/ne...on/3154009001/

Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 123

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
  •