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Thread: Montez Spradley - Alabama

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    Montez Spradley - Alabama





    Facts of the Crime:

    Was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to die on April 21, 2008 for the January 9, 2004 robbery of Marlene Jason, the 58-year-old lunchroom cashier at Mountain Brook Middle School.

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    April 21, 2008

    Montez Spradley gets death sentence in 2004 murder

    Montez Spradley was sentenced to death today in the 2004 shooting death of a grandmother after she returned to her Center Point home from shopping.

    Jefferson County Circuit Judge Gloria Bahakel overrode the jury's recommendation of life without parole when she imposed the death sentence today after a brief hearing.

    The jury voted, 10-2, to recommend the lesser sentence. Jury sentencing recommendations in Alabama are not binding on the trial judge.

    Spradley was convicted Feb. 29 of capital murder during the Jan. 9, 2004, robbery of Marlene Jason, the 58-year-old lunchroom cashier at Mountain Brook Middle School.

    Spradley, 25, told Bahakel today that he was innocent, as he did frequently during his trial. He made no other comment today.

    Jason's 2 adult children said they favored the lesser sentence, but would accept death. The victim's husband, Edward Jason, said death was the only appropriate punishment for Spradley.

    Bahakel also sentenced Spradley to 20 years for intimidating a witness in the capital murder case.

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    Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals orders new trial in 2008 capital conviction of Death Row inmate

    MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- A unanimous Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals today reversed the capital murder conviction and death sentence for Montez Spradley, saying multiple errors were committed during his 2008 trial in Jefferson County.

    Spradley, 29, was convicted of capital murder during a robbery in the 2004 shooting death of Marlene Jason as she returned home from shopping for clothes for her grandchildren.

    In an opinion written by Judge Mary Windom, the appeals court ruled that then-Circuit Judge Gloria Bahakel improperly allowed video and surveillance photos and hearsay testimony.

    The appeals judges also ruled Jefferson County prosecutors wrongly elicited testimony about a third-party threatening a witness if he testified against Spradley, and separate testimony that Spradley had a prior conviction.

    The appeals judges ordered a new trial for Spradley, whose jury recommendation of a life without parole sentence was overridden by Bahakel.

    Spradley's conviction and 20-year sentence for intimidating a different witness was upheld by the court Friday.

    Spradley has been held on Death Row at the Holman Correctional Facility near Atmore.

    http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2011/09/...al_appe_2.html

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    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    Well from the sounds of it they disallowed most of the evidence according to a article I read the other day. Prosecutors gonna have a nightmare with this one.

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    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    JLR at the beginning of next year I will start a bet thread with you.

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    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    I still say JLR is really for the death penalty deep down.

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    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    JLR at the beginning of next year I will start a bet thread with you.
    JLR likes this idea very much

    I still say JLR is really for the death penalty deep down.
    And what makes you say that Moh?

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    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    You just don't really seem bothered by executions. It seems to be more of a betting proposition for you.

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    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Former Alabama death row inmate seeks Crime Stoppers information for his retrial

    A Jefferson County judge today heard arguments from lawyers about the release of confidential grand jury and Crime Stoppers documents in the case of a former death row inmate who was granted a new trial in the 2004 shooting death of a Center Point woman.

    A prosecutor told Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Stephen Wallace that he can't find any recordings or transcripts from the grand jury that indicted Montez Spradley in the death of Marlene Jason as she returned home from shopping for clothes for her grandchildren.

    The prosecutor also said he did not have any of the Crime Stoppers information.

    The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals on Sept. 30, 2011 reversed the 2008 capital murder conviction and death sentence for Spradley. The court cited multiple errors committed during his trial for capital murder during a robbery in the 2004 Jason, 58, had been the lunchroom cashier at Mountain Brook Middle School.

    Spradley's conviction and 20-year sentence for intimidating a different witness was upheld by the appeals court. Spradley had been on death row before the appeals court overturned the capital murder conviction.

    Wallace said today that he was ordering Crime Stoppers to produce records on the Spradley case for his review to decide whether the records contain what Spradley's attorneys are seeking and whether they should be allowed to have them.

    Spradley's defense attorneys had filed a motion seeking any Crime Stoppers payment records to informants, the identity of those paid, and any information about other potential suspects that law enforcement may or may not have pursued in their investigation. Prosecutors have fought the release of those records.

    If any of the key witnesses from Spradley's first trial received money through the Crime Stoppers program, or reported information through the Crime Stoppers program inconsistent to their trial testimony, it would affect their credibility, according to the defense motion. Three witnesses gave testimony inconsistent with their police statement, physical evidence and with each other, according to Spradley's defense motion.

    Defense attorneys know Spradley's former girlfriend was paid $5,000 from the Governor's reward program and $5,000 from the Barber s Dairy Reward program. The $5,000 through the Barber s Dairy program may have been processed through Crime Stoppers, according to the motion.

    The girlfriend may have received other money from Crime Stoppers, the motion states.

    The confidentiality is no longer the issue, one of Spradley's attorneys, Richard Jaffe, argued today.

    Wallace asked that if everybody knows who the informants were, what is the point of protecting them.

    Deputy Jefferson County District Attorney Mike Anderton said he doesn't have the Crime Stoppers information. "If they are aware of who the informant is, that is news to me," he said.

    Also, Anderton said, Crime Stoppers depends on the confidentiality of the process in order to get people to step forward with tips about who may have committed a crime.

    Wallace also heard arguments about defense attorneys request to get access to recordings or records of the grand jury testimony in Spradley's case.

    Wallace last June had granted defense attorneys motion, in part, ordering that the grand jury notes and transcripts be delivered by prosecutors to him so he could review them to decide whether the grand jury information should be released to defense attorneys.

    Prosecutors notified Wallace on Nov. 30 that they had searched, but could not find any grand jury transcripts or recordings. On Jan. 14 defense attorneys served a subpoena on a court reporting company seeking the records.

    Anderton filed a motion seeking to quash that subpoena. He said today that the defense attorneys should not be allowed to go to the court reporting service to get secret grand jury testimony, which would be illegal for the company to provide anyway.

    Jaffe said they had subpoenaed the records just to identify if the recording company had the records.

    Wallace asked Anderton if the records exist.

    "Not that I know of," Anderton said.

    Wallace said that it was "surprising" that prosecutors didn't have recordings, particularly in a capital murder case.

    Anderton said that sometimes the grand jury proceedings were not recorded around the time the Spradley case was heard because of budget problems. "We're not required to keep recordings of them anyway," he said.

    The district attorneys office now has a contract with a reporting service and has recordings of all the grand jury proceedings, which are confidential anyway, Anderton said.

    Wallace has set March 5 for another status hearing in the case.

    http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2013/01/...row_inmat.html
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

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

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    Jefferson County judge denies former Alabama death row inmate access to Crime Stoppers records

    A Jefferson County judge today denied a request by defense attorneys for former Alabama death row inmate Montez Spradley to get Crime Stoppers records in preparation for his second trial.

    The executive director of Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama was pleased with the ruling by Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Stephen Wallace.

    "We are extremely pleased with Judge Wallace's ruling to deny the defense attorneys' request for Crime Stoppers records," said Teresa McClendon, executive director of Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama. "Judge Wallace's ruling is consistent with rulings across the U.S. with regards to access to Crime Stoppers records."

    "Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama, like all crime stoppers organizations, assures our tipsters of anonymity," McClendon said. "The system and procedures we use to collect tips insures we do not know who is giving us the information. And, we don't want to know. We are simply a pipeline for the public to safely use to provide crime solving information to law enforcement and make our community safer. "

    Wallace did agree to hold a hearing to allow defense attorneys to pose questions about reward money in the case to former Jefferson County District Attorney David Barber, two investigators, an official with another reward program through Barber's Dairy, and Spradley's ex-girlfriend.

    Defense attorneys allege Spradley's ex-girlfriend got more than $10,000 in reward money within two weeks after Spradley's first trial where she was a key witness.

    Wallace has not set a date for the hearing. He told the attorneys to get with the witnesses to find out the best day.

    Crime Stoppers officials are not among those being asked to testify at the hearing. Wallace denied a request by Spradley's attorneys to also subpoena former Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Gloria Bahakel to testify at that hearing.

    Wallace in January had ordered Crime Stoppers to produce records on the Spradley case for his review so he could decide whether the records contain what Spradley's attorneys are seeking and whether they should be allowed to have them.

    Wallace told Spradley's attorneys today when he denied them access to the Crime Stoppers records that he had reviewed them and found no information that would benefit the defense. "The tipster is completely anonymous," he said.

    Defense attorneys have said they know Spradley's former girlfriend was paid $5,000 from the Governor's reward program and $5,000 from the Barber's Dairy Reward program. The $5,000 through the Barber s Dairy program may have been processed through Crime Stoppers, the attorneys have said.

    The confidentiality is no longer the issue, one of Spradley's attorneys, Richard Jaffe, had argued.

    Spradley had been convicted in 2008 of capital murder in the 2004 death of 58-year-old Marlene Jason as she returned home from shopping for clothes for her grandchildren. She was a lunchroom cashier at Mountain Brook Middle School.

    The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals on Sept. 30, 2011 reversed Spradley's conviction and death sentence. . The court cited multiple errors committed during his trial for capital murder.

    Spradley's conviction and 20-year sentence for intimidating a different witness was upheld by the appeals court. Spradley also is seeking to have that conviction and sentence overturned or be granted a new trial.

    http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2013/03/..._denies_5.html
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

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

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