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Thread: Rahmael Sal Holt - Pennsylvania Death Row

  1. #21
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    Rahmael Holt officially sent to death row for killing New Kensington Officer Brian Shaw

    By Rich Cholodofsky
    The Tribune-Review

    Rahmael Holt simply said “no” when asked Wednesday if he had anything to say before his death sentence was formally imposed.

    Holt, 31, of Harrison, Allegheny County, officially became the 133rd person on Pennsylvania’s death row after he was condemned to death by lethal injection for shooting and killing New Kensington police officer Brian Shaw in November 2017.

    A Westmoreland County jury in December, following a two-week trial, convicted Holt of first-degree murder and two other offenses in connection with the fatal shooting in New Kensington. The jury also determined Holt should be sentenced to death.

    Prosecutors said Shaw chased Holt as he fled from a car following a traffic stop. The officer was shot and killed during the pursuit.

    “He was a model police officer in the community,” said Common Pleas Court Judge Rita Hathaway. “This family lost him, the community lost him that day.”

    Holt did not testify during his trial or the subsequent penalty phase. He continued his silence Wednesday.

    Shaw’s surviving family members and friends sat quietly in court and did not testify during the hearing. They were not available for comment after Hathaway imposed the sentence.

    Defense attorney Tim Dawson said Holt will appeal his conviction and sentence.

    “He was surprisingly upbeat for a man who was just convicted and sentenced to death. He knows he has a long road ahead of him,” Dawson said.

    In addition to the death penalty, Hathaway also imposed two consecutive sentences that will require Holt to serve an additional 10-1/2 to 27 years in prison for convictions of two firearms charges.

    As a convicted felon, Holt was not permitted to possess the gun he used to kill Shaw, prosecutors said.

    Hathaway recounted Holt’s lengthy criminal record that dates back to age 16, when he was convicted as a juvenile with multiple arrests for gun possession and giving false identification to police.

    Holt was also convicted of another firearms offense at age 19, was convicted of simple assault and disorderly conduct and sentenced to probation at age 22. A year later, he was convicted of another weapons offense and sentenced to two-to-four years in prison, Hathaway said.

    She said the circumstances that led up to Shaw’s murder were a direct result of the previous convictions.

    Prosecutors argued at trial that Holt was in possession of a gun while riding as a passenger in the vehicle Shaw attempted to stop.

    Had he been found with the gun during a search of the vehicle, Holt could have faced a parole revocation that might have resulted in a prison sentence of up to five years, the judge said.

    “You didn’t potentially want to serve five years in prison, so you took that man’s life,” Hathaway said. “He may not even have searched the car, but you didn’t want to take that chance.”

    https://triblive.com/local/valley-ne...er-brian-shaw/
    Last edited by Steven; 02-12-2020 at 12:07 PM.

  2. #22
    Moderator Ryan's Avatar
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    Holt entered Pennsylvania's death row on 2/26/20.

    https://www.cor.pa.gov/About%20Us/In...ion%20list.pdf
    "How do you get drunk on death row?" - Werner Herzog

    "When we get fruit, we get the juice and water. I ferment for a week! It tastes like chalk, it's nasty" - Blaine Keith Milam #999558 Texas Death Row

  3. #23
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Related:

    Jury deliberating case against Arnold man charged with threatening witness

    By Rich Cholodofsky
    Tribune-Review

    A Westmoreland County jury started its deliberations Wednesday afternoon in the case of a former Arnold man accused of witness intimidation prior to his son’s capital murder trial last year.

    Prosecutors contend Gregory Paul Baucum, 49, outed a witness who cooperated with police during the investigation of the man accused of gunning down New Kensington police officer Brian Shaw in 2017.

    Baucum, according to Assistant District Attorney Anthony Iannamorelli, made threats against a former New Kensington woman on social media, labeled her a snitch and published details of her cooperation on the internet.

    “He made sure to put the hit out in the street that (she) was a snitch,” Iannamorelli told jurors in his closing argument.

    Baucum’s son, Rahmael Holt, was convicted last year and sentenced to death for Shaw’s murder.

    Prosecutors said that months before Holt’s trial, Baucum sought to prevent Tasha Williams from testifying about information that could be used against his son that she learned while incarcerated at the county jail in 2018.

    She testified on Tuesday that Baucum sent her messages in which he called her a “cheese eating rat snitch.” He also sent emojis of a block of cheese and a casket. She told jurors she fears for her safety.

    Williams did not testify during Holt’s trial last November.

    Baucum was the lone witness to testify for the defense during the two-day trial. He conceded he sent Williams massages but claimed he did so as free speech and to alert others in the community about her police cooperation.

    “He wanted people to know to look out, she talks to police,” argued defense lawyer Matt Schimizzi.

    Baucum was found not guilty in 2018 by a Westmoreland jury of assault and witness intimidation charges. In that case prosecutors claimed Baucum strangled his then girlfriend, who he believed cooperated with police to help identify and capture Holt following Shaw’s murder.

    https://triblive.com/local/valley-ne...ing-a-witness/
    "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
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    Pa. Supreme Court upholds death sentence for man convicted of killing New Kensington officer

    By WTAE News

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the death sentence of a man convicted in the 2017 murder of New Kensington police officer Brian Shaw.

    A Westmoreland County jury in 2019 had recommended the death penalty for Rahmael Holt after convicting him of murder of a law enforcement officer in the first degree.

    Shaw, 25, was shot during a foot pursuit after a traffic stop on Leishman Avenue in New Kensington on Nov. 17, 2017.

    Prosecutors said Holt was a passenger in the vehicle, and that he shot Shaw while running from the traffic stop.

    “The Shaw family deserves that justice be served in accordance with the jury’s verdict, affirmed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and now in the hands of Gov. Wolf," Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole W. Ziccarelli. "May the Shaw family find strength in the heroism of Brian’s ultimate sacrifice and may his legacy endure.”

    https://www.wtae.com/article/rahmael...-shaw/39853008
    "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
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    Distributed for conference October 28, 2022.

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search....c/22-5463.html
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

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  6. #26
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mastro Titta's Avatar
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    In yesterday's orders, the United States Supreme Court DENIED Holt's petition for certiorari.

    Lower Ct: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Eastern District
    Case Numbers: (789 CAP)
    Decision Date: April 28, 2022

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/...22zor_l537.pdf

  7. #27
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    On December 9, 2022, Holt filed a habeas petition in federal district court.

    https://dockets.justia.com/docket/pe...cv01766/294695
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

  8. #28
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    An administrative execution date of April 3, 2023 was given to Holt on February 6.

    Useless as always.

    https://www.media.pa.gov/Pages/corre...spx?newsid=589
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

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